Cupid's Crystal Ball
by Creaturemaster
Summary: (After WAM) There is a multiverse of infinite possibilities, where anything is possible and has or will happen. So when Cupid is given a special crystal ball by none other than Professor Paradox, she gets a glimpse of what things are like back home and what could have been. BenxFrankie? BenxLagoona? Benx Headmistress Bloodgood? Even BenxC.A. Cupid? What more could Cupid ask for?
1. Prolouge

**Greetings and salutations once again, man-sters and ghouls! I am back once more from the dead, this time time bring you the wonderful one-shot series I have promised you.**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **I will post the chapter containing the winner of the poll within a couple of days, but I believe some explanations are in order.**

 **So sit back, enjoy the story, and leave your comments, reviews, suggests, and requests down below!**

 **Onwards!**

C.A. Cupid sighed as glumly stirred her tea with a spoon; most passerby would assume that the young deity in training was merely bored out of her mind. The long school hours of Ever After High had finally ended after what seemed an eternity and released its student populace to go about and do as they pleased while the teachers rested after a long day of educating the next generation of Fairy Tales and graded papers. While most students were either working in their dorms on the mountains of homework that had been shoved onto them, shopped around the Village of Book End, or worked at their various jobs and positions in the village. What was really eating away at Cupid however, were the couples.

Everywhere she looked, she saw couples talking, eating, even kissing every now and then; Hunter and Ashynn sat at one table, somewhat oblivious to the outside world as they starred lovingly at each other and shared a cup of organic coffee together as Daring showed off his bright and dazzling smile to a group of girls that all fainted at the sight while the young Prince Charming admired himself in a mirror. It seemed everyone was having luck at finding love of some degree; even Dexter and Raven had gone on a few dates together, just to try it out. And this was what was bugging Cupid.

She knew that, as the Daughter of Eros, her job was find and make others fall in love with one another. But was it so much to ask for someone to fall for her, to tell her that they loved her and be held in another's arms and feel their lipss brush against hers as they kissed? Appearently, it was a little much to ask for, because no one had even taken notice of her; even her crush, Dexter Charming, had only acknowledged her as a friend at the most and not something more, something that tore her heart in half. She couldn't really hate Dexter nor Raven for her heartache, but it just hurt her even more when she saw Dexter talking to Raven in the hallways or caught sight of the two all dressed up and on their way to another date.

The sad thing was, even though she had given her heart to Dexter on True Hearts Day, Dexter didn't really see as anything more than a best friendship; and was even more sad was that she couldn't tell him how she felt. It was almost ironic how she could effortlessly give anyone else in all of Ever After dating advice that was guarenteed to work on nearly all parties, but she herself couldn't even muster up the courage to tell her one crush how she felt.

Yes, irony had reared its ugly head once more.

"Ms. Cupid?"

Upon hearing her name, Cupid moved her head up to look at who was speaking to her and thoroughly confused by what she saw. Standing over her at her table was a tall man with considerably pale skin and a slight, quirky smile on his face, as if he knew something she didn't. He had black hair and white side burns and dark, black eyes that actually twinkled like stars in the night sky, as if he was aware of something Cupid had no hope of understanding. In addition to his odd appearance, he wore a white labcoat trimmed in gold with a pair of shoulder pads trimmed in tassles of the same color. He wore a pair of brown boots and black pants with knee pads and a pair of green, tinted goggles around his neck; he leaned on a cane and where his right hand should have been, there was a large, metal counterpart that was similar to a gauntlet with a clock on the back of his hand.. In short, he had a rather Steampunk general look to him.

"Who are you?" Cupid asked, slightly curious and slightly depressed at the same time.

"I am known by many names, Ms. Cupid," the man greeted her with a warm smile. "But most referr to me as Professor Paradox."

"Are you a professor visiting from another school?" the young deity asked.

"Not even close." Paradox shook his head with a smile. "May I sit down?"

"I guess." Cupid sighed as the professor took the other chair across from her and sat down while leaning one hand on his cane and resting the strange, metal gauntlet on the other. "So if you're not from another school, what are you?"

"To put it quite simply, I am a Time Traveler." Paraodx said with nonchalant.

"Yeah, and I'm destined to be the next Evil Queen." Cupid rolled her eyes with a slight laugh that only briefly brought her out of her depression.

"Take a look around you." was all Paradox said as he stole Cupid's tea and took a sip. "Mmmm. Ice tea. Not a particular favorite of mine, but it shall suffice."

Cupid barely even noticed the time traveler stealing her drink or even heard what he had said; she was too busy starring at her surroundings with wide eyes of shock. To put it quite simply, everything was frozen. The birds and small dragons in the air above her were stopped in midflight, their wings thrust down or up in midflap as a jet of fire that was aimed directly at an unfortunate pigeon from a dragon's mouth stopped just a foot away from the fleeing bird. The customers of the Beanstalk Bakery were frozen as well, gridlocked into place where they stood or sat; a waittress was motionless as she poured Hunter a new cup of coffee, the stream of hot liquid frozen right in midpour, not even touching the bottom of the cup. Tiny the giant was stopped in midstep as he carefully lumbered through the village, walking along the very center of the main street so he wouldn't accidentally crush anything or anyone as he walked along.

"How did you that?" Cupid was at a near loss for words.

"My dear goddess, I told you! I'm a Time Walker!" Paradox chuckled. "I have total and complete access to anywhere and anywhen I want. Within reason of course." he added, as if Cupid actually knew what he was talking about in the first place. "I sense that you are still confused, so I shall elaborate. Roughly fifty years ago from this moment in time and in another universe entirely, I partook in an experimental time machine of my own design; unfortunately, through a series of events that will leave absolutely mad, I was thrown out into the event horizon and remained there for a hundred thousand years where I was displaced outside time; I didn't age, I didn't sleep, I didn't eat. All I had to do was simly exist. I went completely insane for a while, ut I eventually got bored of that and became sane once more. I gained a complete understanding of the space-time continuum, and now have a mental map of all of reality." he explained. "Understand?"

"I . . . I think so?" Cupid guessed.

"Do you think so, or know so?" Paradox questioned her with a smile. "Now, in order to understand where I come from and what I am doing here, I will have to explain paralell universes to you. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Do I think or do I know?" Cupid countered.

The Professor actually laughed at this. "Oh my, it has been a while since I've heard such a good joke!" he chuckled before getting down to business. "Imagine that your universe and all that is within it is like the trunk of a tree; all of the branches, twigs, and leaves represent other realities similar to your own, but with slight or major differences."

"Okay . . . I think I'm getting this . . ." Cupid nodded.

"Think or know?" Paradox cocked an eyebrow with a smirk. "Now imagine that your tree is standing in a forest, surrounded by other trees. Each of those trees represents another universe entirely that is completely different than yours and protected by a Time Walker all their own," Paradox went on. :You have the Danny Phantom timeline, the Generator Rex timeline, the Ben 10 timeline, the one I am from, and . . . the Monster High timeline." he finished with a smile, his grin broadening when he saw Cupid visibly perk up at the name.

It had been so long since Cupid had even remembered her short time at Monster High. It seemed so long ago, that she hardly even remembered it, but everything was coming back to her now; the dark colors of the hallways, the terrifying teachers, the disgusting food of the Creepateria, and all of the friends she had made and left behind. Did they even remember her now that she was gone?

"I know what you are thinking, Ms. Cupid; afterall, I've replayed this sencario almost a hundred times before this moment," Paradox smiled. "A lot has changed since you have left Monster High, and it's all thanks to a wonderful lad: Ben Tennyson."

"Who?"

"I can understand your confusion, Ms. Cupid, so I shall elbaorate." the Time Walker smiled. "In a nutshell, your universe no longer exists because of him. But then again, neither does his. To put it simply, they have been fused together, as if put into a blender." Paradox reassured her before catching sight of her utterly confused face. "I can imagine your confusion, so allow me to give you something." he said before reaching into his jacket and digging around inside for longer than it should have taken before pulling out a clear, crystal-like ball about as big as a basketball and set it on the table.

"This will allow you see your old home once more. All you have to do is rub it." Paradox smiled as Cupid cautiously set her fingertips on the smooth surface and rubbed it slightly, gasping when a swirl of colors suddenly started to form inside of the ball and formed an image. She watched, awestruck as she caught sight of Frankie and Clawdeen running down the sidewalk after a boy with pale skin and dark, brown hair with bright, green eyes and a confident smirk on his face. He wore a pair of brown jeans and a black T-shirt with a green stripe down the center and a white 10 in the center of his chest; fixed to his wrist was a strange, watch-like device.

"Wait for it." Paradox smiled as Cupid watched the boy tap his watch with a finger and hold it down on the watch face for a few seconds before raising his hand up and slapping it, suddenly being swallowed in a brilliant, green light. His skinny figure suddenly swelled as hundreds of muscles piled on top of each other, sending his growing form upwards until he was more than twice as tall as his previous self. His fingers pulsed as thick veins appeared on his arms, sending alien blood through them. A second pair of eyes appeared above his own and every hair on his head disappeared. A short beard appeared on his than ran up to his disappearing earlobes as his jaw jutted out. Suddenly, a second pair of smaller arms burst out from under his own, still just fresh muscle and bone; Cupid felt like she was going to be sick until a tough, red skin covered them. His toes melded into two, large claws as a row of small spikes appeared on his head and shoulders. A black undershirt with a green stripe down the middle as a pair of black pants appeared while two pairs of black, finger-less gloves materialized on his large, hands, finishing the sudden transformation.

"What is-" Cupid gaped as Frankie cupped her hands together and fired off a concentrated blast of electricity at something before she and Clawdeen each turned to their own watches and repeated the process, engulfing themselves in flashes of gold and blue light and being changed into more of the strange creatures; Frankie had been turned into a large, humanoid creature that seemed entirely composed out of crystals and diamonds as she wore a black jumpsuit with a cyan stripe down the middle while Clawdeen had been turned into something resembled a large crab with a massive head that opened up to reveal a gigantic brain underneath. The scene changed slightly as the three creatures threw themselves at a bizarre man with a green labcoat and an exposed brain inside of a glass dome with anteanne sticking out from the top riding on the back of what she could only guess to be some kind of mutant bat or something.

"What happened?" Cupid wondered.

"To put it quite simply, several of your friends and other ghouls have fallen for Ben Tennyson and have formed a harem together," Paradox explained. "Ben possesses a device called the Omnitrix that allowed him to turn into an imnumerable number of alien species; eventually, the ghouls he had fallen in love with received an Omnitrix of their own, albeit with some restrictions placed by the Omnitrix's creator, Azmuth."

"I don't believe you." Cupid shook her head, rubbing her aching temples.

"I just froze all of time for us. Aliens don't seem any stranger, now do they?" Paradox chuckled.

"But why come here? Why give me this thing?" Cupid wondered.

"To put it in terms you will understand, I am here to prevent your death," Paradox answered. "You see, approximetly a year from now, you will kill yourself at noon in front of everyone at Ever After by launching yourself from the roof of the Mirrornet Tower and commiting suicide. You simply not take the heartache anymore."

Cupid whimpered slightly as she leaned back in her chair and folded up on herself slightly, cupping her hands over her heart. She watched as the three aliens fought with the strange and appearantly insane man, easily beating him and his massive pet before they swallowed in various flashes of colorful light, returning Frankie, Clawdeen, and Ben to the world; she nearly felt tears fall from her eyes when she saw the three of them embrace and share a quick kiss before walking down the road towards a building that looked lika giant smoothy cup.

"Don't worry, dear. You'll find love," Paradox comforted her with a smile. "Just watch your old friends."

"But . . . what if I get bored?" Cupid wondered.

"The ingenius thing about this device is that it allows you to also view alternate universes, all of which feature Ben and the student body of Monster High and where anything is possible." he winked.

"Al . . . alright . . ." Cupid nodded, gently taking the crystal ball in her hands and holding it close to her. "Can you please start time again?" she asked.

"Certainly," Paradox nodded, hauling himself up to his feet as Cupid herself stood up and out of her chair. "And thank you for the tea. It has been a while since I've had the chance to eat something. Gumball?" he offered her with a smile, pulling out a paper bag of colorful orbs.

"Thank you." Cupid smiled as she reached into the bag and pulled out a bright pink ball and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm. Bubble gum." she giggled.

"I shall see you again, Ms. Cupid. Or for the first time? I say, time travel is so confusing at times." Paradox cracked as a bright, blue portal opened up in the air behind him. "Toodles!" he waved farewell as he stepped through and out of sight, the swirling vortex snapping shut after a few seconds. Afterwards, it was as if someone had pressed the play button on the universal TV remote, starting time once more and returning everything to normal; the dragon managed to catch its tasty meal while Hunter then took a sip of his fresh coffee as Tiny continued on his way down the Village of Book End.

Cupid sighed as she glanced at the crystal ball in her hands and made her way back to her dorm, a smile on her lips as she walked along with the ball underneath her arm; it seemed like a dream to her, but if that crazy professor knew what he was talking about, then things just might turn out alright.

 **And there we go!**

 **Let me know what you thought in the reviews, and if you have any ideas or suggestions for how one of these one-shots might work, do not hesitate to tell or suggest me.**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	2. A Better Vampire Romance than Twilight

**_Hola,_ everyone! I'm back with the first official chapter of "Cupid's Crystal Ball"!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . everyone's favorite vampire, Draculaura!**

 **Once this chapter is posted, the poll will be reset, so don't forget to vote!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Cupid nudged open the door to the dormitory she shared with her roommate Blonde Locks with her hip and stepped through and into the room, inhaling the familiar scents of the place she called home; the luxury soaps from the bathroom that Raven had been kind enough to craft for her, the lingering scent of honey that seemed to follow Blonde wherever she went, and the slight smell of the bird feathers. She guessed that last one came from the wings jammed into her back, paid it no mind as she gave them a good stretch before she folded them back up against her back and walked over to her bed. She sat down on the blankets and set the crystal ball on the bed in front of her as she climbed down to lie on her stomach, starring at the ball blankly; it all semed like a crazy dream to her.

Then again, the crystal ball gazing blankly back at her was more than enough proof that it wasn't a dream. "What else have I got to lose?" she sighed to herself before she tentatively reached out with a pale hand and rested her finger tips on the cool surface of the ball before rubbing her thumb across the surface for a few seconds, running it over a certain for a few seconds as colors started to appear and form an image before her very eyes of a certain boy and a familiar, pink vampire

* * *

Monster High was considered a home to a wide variety of species; gargoyles and an innumerable number of bats hung out in the belfries, fire-breathing dragons made their home in the catacombs beneath the school, and the school's Kraken and other wild sea monsters lurked in the pool in the very depths of the deep end. The disgusting glop that passed for school lunches often could be found oozing their way through the air ducts and vents of the school while voracious spiders inhabited every corner that was available and ready to have a cobweb in it; and those were just the creatures of the school.

Monster High prided itself in being the only school to except an enormous range of Monster species into its halls, excepting Monsters from over fourty countries and five dimensions, and never shying anyone away. From werewolves and vampires to skeletons and ghosts, sea monsters and robots to mummies and zombies, and every kind of Monster in between. It seemed Monster High had every type of Monster one could ever imagine to walk the face of the earth within its halls. But even those that had been at Monster High since its opening had no idea what kind of creature was responsible for the horrendous din that echoed through its halls.

"WWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AHAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"What is that vociferous noise!?" Mr. Rotter yelled angrily as he banged open the door of his classroom, nearly making Lagoona and Frankie jump half a dozen feet in the air. "My class can barely hear my teachings!"

"Should we tell him?" Lagoona asked her friend.

"Draculaura's having a . . . bad day." Frankie winced slightly.

"I don't care! Just keep her quiet so that I may teach!" Mr. Rotter snapped, slamming the door shut behind him loudly. Frankie shook her head and walked down the hallway with Lagoona by her side. It seemed so long ago since the Wolf family had moved away unexpectedly and left the students at Monster High dumbfounded. The sports teams barely practiced anymore; it just wasn't the same without Clawd being there to block every shot, tackle every quarterback, or to cross the finish line at the last second and bring home the gold. The ghouls had also suffered a huge blow from Clawdeen's absence from their tight knit group of friends, leaving them without someone rash or crazy enough to get them out of the wild situations they seemed to get themselves in. Twyla was barely seen by anyone anymore without Howleen to drag herself out of the shadows and attempt to help her have a good time.

The sudden move of the Wolf family seemed to have hit Draculaura the hardest. At first she had been in denial, quietly claiming to herself that Clawd and Clawdeen would come back to her the next day and they would all have a good laugh about the sudden fright. But by the next week, she had given up on the idea that her beast friend and boyfriend would come back to her and had entered a state of depression. While she still wore more than enough pink to make an entire flock of flamingos jealous, but had reduced to wearing far less flashy and attractive clothes than she normally did, even going so far as to stop putting on her make up; what was the point if Clawdeen wasn't there to help her put it on?

The final blow came when Clawd called her that morning, instantly brightening her day as she let off steam on all the stuff she could only confide into her boyfriend with. Just when she was about to hang up, claiming she was going to be late to her Study Howl, Clawd had dropped the mother of all bad news: he was breaking up with her. He claimed that he didn't want to hold her back and that he knew from experience that long distance relationships never really worked out; Draculaura hardly heard her when she dropped her iCoffin and let out an earth-shattering scream that had shattered every window in the school, along with startling every colony of bat or gargoyle in the belfries, and causing all of the werewolves left in the school to howl at the top of their lungs, their ears throbbing and pulsing with pain.

Lagoona and Frankie had found Draculaura's iCoffin moments later with Clawd yelling on the other end asking if she was there and okay; Draculaura hadn't been seen since then.

"Where could she have gone?" Lagoona wondered.

* * *

Draculaura whimpered and sniffed as she curled up on herself, the calls of Lagoona and Frankie falling on deaf ears. She could hardly believe that Clawd had ended their relationship, after she had worked so hard to even start it, despite the temporary meddling of Clawdeen; and now, her beast friend was gone too! Who would she spend the long hours of shopping at the Maul with? Who would she confine her darkest secrets with? Who would she complain about Clawd with when deep down she really loved him?

Despite the fact he was no longer there, she still loved Clawd with all her undead heart; her heart hurt so much in the emotional sense that it felt like her unbeating organ would break in half in the physical sense.

"Ahem."

Draculaura gave a yelp as she peered in the darkness of the janitor's closet she had taken refuge in. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked into the darkness, gulping nervously when a mop that had been leaning against the wall suddenly fell forward on its own; a rummaging noise came from the back of closet as a crate of cleaning supplies was dumped over, the contents spilling out onto the floor before silence enveloped the closet once more.

"Hello?" Draculaura gulped nervously, her frail voice sounding small and insignificant in the dark closet.

"Good evening, darling." a thick, Transylvanian voice greeted her. "It is evening, right? I don't know how long I've been in here."

Draculaura gulped nervously and looked around the large janitor's closet, searching for the source of the voice and wondering what it could possibly be; at the very least, she assumed it was a vampire based on the accent the owner of the voice retained.

"Up here."

Draculaura tilted her head up and gasped slightly when she caught side of the tall, muscled figure hanging from the ceiling of the closet without any effort whatsoever. He was tall and well muscled with a strong chest with visible pectoral muscles and abdominals, his well toned arms folded over his strong chest and his hands tipped with razor sharp claws. His entire body was covered in a black jumpsuit with green patches that defined his features on his chest, stomach, thighs, ankles, arms, and talons; in front of his head he wore a green, horned mask that resembled a pair of bat wings and framed his bright, green eyes and leaving a patch of greenish-white skin with a mouthful of yellowed teeth. On his stomach was an idiosyncratic disk that was black at its center with a sharp, green hourglass stretching from end to end ringed in white.

"W-Who are you?" Draculaura trembled nervously; this creature seemed vaguely familiar and yet so alien to her.

"I am the Ghost of the Janitor's Closet!" the strange figure said in a spooky tone that made Draculaura smile slightly. "There's that smile I love to see." he added with a toothy grin.

"What do you mean?" Draculaura asked, now slightly frightened.

"Admittedly, I have been watching you and your group of ghouls." the figure shrugged as if it were nothing.

"Why?"

"Why not?" he wondered, spreading his arms out wide in an exaggerated gesture that revealed large, bat wing-like flaps under his arms that adjoined to his hips. "You ghouls are by the far the most interesting creatures in this school, you particularly." he smirked. "I have never seen such beauty in all my time roaming the cosmos." he added.

Draculaura felt herself blush as she giggled slightly. "Oh, I'm not even looking my best." she waved it off.

"My point exactly. Beautiful beyond compare even when you don't use makeup to enhance your wonderful features." the figure chuckled.

"Draculaura giggled again and attempted to cover the deep blush that now crept across her face. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. What is your name?"

"My name is Whampire." the creature bowed upside down.

"Why do they call y-" Draculaura started.

 _ **WHAM!**_

"That is why?" Whampire chuckled as he slowly withdrew a hand from the gaping hole in the wall he had made with a sudden movement of his fist, shaking lose the drywall from his claws as he gave a sudden flip and swung down onto the floor in a single fluid movement and landing on his feet. "As to why you have never seen me before, it is because I am not entirely being honest with you."

"What do you mean?" Draculaura quirked an eyebrow.

"Just . . . promise me you won't freak out, alright?" the Vladat pleaded. Draculaura was confused and slightly frightened; what was he going to do? Was he suddenly going to turn invisible before her very eyes like Invisibilly so often did? Was he going to use those flaps of his to suddenly fly and buzz around in the small space of the janitor's closet? Was it even possible for him to merge with the walls and floors, thus literally becoming the school itself? What followed was not even close to any of those options as Whampire reached with a hand for the peculiar disk fixed to his stomach and slapped it, suddenly inundating himself in a flash of bright, green light that furiously blinded Draculaura in the small confines of the closet.

Once the light had died down, Draculaura cracked open her lavender eyes and gasped at what she saw standing over her, a sheepish smile on his face. Standing in the place where Whampire had been seconds ago was a tall, human boy with a skinny, yet muscled figure and pale skin. Bright, green orbs sat in the sockets of his skull, overshadowed only by his dark, ebony hair. He wore a dark, black T-shirt with trimmed, green sleeves running along his shoulders and connecting at the color where they ran down in a long, green stripe down the middle of the front and blac; smack dab in the center of his chest was a white, number 10 trimmed in green. Encompassing his legs were a pair of brown pants with pockets at the knees and green and white shoes on his feet; strapped securely to his wrist was a white and green watch with a black face plate that had two, green lines forming an hourglass symbol on it.

"Who are you? What happened to Whampire?" Draculaura asked fearfully.

"Do want the long version or the short version?" the boy asked.

"Short?" Draculaura winced.

"My name is Ben Tennyson, and I have a device called the Omnitrix that can turn me into hundreds of alien heroes, one of which is Whampire." the boy summed up quickly.

Draculaura blinked and rubbed her temples. "I'm so worked up over Clawd that I'm seeing things." she muttered to herself.

"You're not crazy. I'm _very_ real." Ben reassured her, stooping down into a kneeling position so that he was level with her. "And from what I've gathered, _you're_ not as happy as you usually are." he said.

"I guess you could say that," Draculaura sighed; so her mind wasn't paying tricks on her. The boy in front of her was very real and right now seemed to actually be interested in what she had to say. "But I suppose you don't want to hear the sorrows of 1600 year old ghoul." she shrugged.

"Nah, go ahead. I've all the time in world; don't really have anything to do during Study Howl." Ben shrugged.

"W-well, if you're sure." Draculaura said shakily. "It's just that . . . I'm sad because my boyfriend and beast friend moved away."

"Clawd and Clawdeen, right?" Ben guessed, sitting down on the floor and gesturing for her to do the same.

"Yes. I know I shouldn't be feeling selfish, but I just miss them so much!" Draculaura sighed unhappily. "Now I don't have anyone to go to the Maul with or to cheer for during the casketball, football, track, or SKRM meets?"

"Well, you still have Frankie, Lagoona, and Cleo," Ben pointed out. "I'm sure they'd be more than happy to go shopping with you. And if you ever need someone to cheer for during sports, you could cheer for me if you want; I'm on the football team." he shrugged.

"No offense, Ben, but I have a hard time believing that," Draculaura laughed. "All of the man-sters, Clawd included, were muscle bound."

"I never said I was the one exactly playing," Ben winked. "I can change into aliens remember? If I can turn into an alien vampire, there has to be some hevay hitters in this too, right?" he smirked as he held up the strange watch on his wrist.

"Where did you even get that thing? It look so scary cute on you!" Draculaura gushed.

"Accidentally found it while me, my cousin, and my grandpa were camping after it fell from space," Ben explained. "And for the record, I'm not from around here."

"Where are you from then?" Draculaura asked.

"From another universe, actually." Ben replied. "Hey, don't look at me like I'm crazy! If I can turn into aliens, parallel universes aren't that hard to believe in either, now are they?" Ben defended himself upon seeing the look Draculaura was giving her, one of skepticism.

"If you say so," Draculaura sighed. "Why are you being so nice to me anyway? Most Normies would have either tried to kill me or make my unlife even worse."

"Back where I'm from, I deal with human/alien relationships all the time; I'm a superhero," he smiled. "Plus, I guess I see a bit of myself in you. I never was good with the ladies, believe it or not."

"Really? I never would guessed that," Draculaura laughed. "You're so nice and actually kinda cute for a Normie."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't always so considerate of others," Ben admitted. "I actually kinda let fame get to my head once my secret came out; guess my girlfriends never really liked that. And don't even get me started on the woman that like me for my alien forms." he grumbled.

"Alien woman?" Draculaura guessed.

"Mostly," Ben sighed, running his fingers through his hair at the memory. "Back when I was 10, I had this crush on a girl named Kai Green; when I met her, we were fighting an alien werewolf, and I ended up slowly getting changed into one when the Omnitrix got stuck on capture mode. By the time I explained what I was and how I felt about her, it was too late; she never really liked me that way in the first place and only wanted me to be some kind of pet to her." Ben narrowed his eyes at the memory. "She thought I was a werewolf." he added bitterly.

"Aw, that's so sad." Draculaura said sympathetically, resting a comforting hand on Ben's. "I guess I've had my share of bad relationships, too. I use to date this vampire named Valentine before I moved here to New Salem. Long story short, he transferred her when he found out I was here so he could hypnotize me and 'harvest my heart'." she shuddered. "Talk about creepy."

"I guess we've both been through a lot," Ben chuckled. "You feeling better?"

"Actually . . . I am," Draculaura admitted. "It almost feels like the times me and Clawd would just hangout and talk together on a moonlit night in the park, when we would just try to forget the day's troubles and worries." Draculaura sighed lovingly. "The only thing different than that is that we're in a janitor's closet." she giggled.

"Well, next time I'll see if I can't get us that park bench." Ben joked, eliciting a laugh from the both of them. "I guess we should be going soon; class'll begin soon and I don't want to be tardy. Either way, I'm going to need you to keep me being a Normie secret, okay? I don't want to cause a mass panic."

"Does anyone else know?" the small vampire asked.

"Only Headmistress Bloodgood. She agreed to let me attend school here in an attempt to break the ice on Normie/Monster relationships; and that was after Creature Control nearly caught me as Wildmutt and I dove into her office for cover where she saw me transform."

"Ohhhh, so _that's_ why we were on lock down!" Draculaura remembered. "I thought that was just a drill."

"Did Bloodgood mention that?" Ben asked skeptically.

"Well . . . I dunno. I was distracted by a cute bracelet Abbey was wearing that day and didn't really hear the announcement." she admitted with a slight giggle. Ben shook his head with a smile as he tapped the Omnitrix on his wrist and cycled through the roster before he selected a transformation and pressed the activation button, encompassing himself in a bright, green flash of light. He felt himself grow taller and much more muscled as thick, shaggy, gray colored fur sprouted all over his body as his back and chest swelled with muscle and tissue. Ben's face bulged forward into a pointed muzzle lined with sharp, canine teeth as a wet, black nose formed at the end; organs sloshed around inside of him as his bones crunched and ground heavily as his muzzle split into four, flexible flaps. His fingers became longer and tipped with razor sharp claws that looked like they could easily slice through most objects. His toes melted together into two, large talons as a third sprouted from his heel and a long, furry tail grew from the base of his spine. A mane of dark, shaggy fur rose from the back of his neck as spikes rose from his elbows and shoulders; a green and black suit appeared on his shifting body with green wrist bands and a collar around his neck with the Omnitrix symbol at the center, completing the transformation.

"How do I look?" Blitzwolfer growled.

"Not bad, actually," Draculaura smiled. "Kinda cute, really."

"Aw, ya makin' me blush." the Loboan chuckled. "You probably cant' tell from under all my fur though." he added with a slight growl. Draculaura giggled once more and climbed to her feet with a kind hand from Blitzwolfer as she pushed open the door of the janitor's closet and stepped out into the halls of Monster High with Blitzwolfer at her heels.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I think so." Draculaura nodded. "Thanks for making me feel better, Ben."

"Eh, no problem. It's what I do." the Loboan grinned before turning down the hallway. "Scream ya later, ghoul." he waved good bye.

"Is that date in the park still optional?"

"What?" Blitzwolfer cocked an eyebrow and turned around to see the vampire standing smugly by the janitor's closet with that every tempting innocent and sweet smile on her face and a pleading look in her eyes. "What did you say?"

"That promise to get us a park bench?" Draculaura reminded him. "Can I still count on that?"

"Not that I ain't flattered, but why do you wanna go?" Blitzwolfer asked.

"You seem interesting, to say the least," Draculaura giggled. "Plus, you're really cute, alien or not." she added as she sauntered down the hall to him, absentmindedly swinging her hips as she walked up to him and gave him a hug around his thick neck that he returned after a few seconds. "You make me feel better when I'm down, just Clawd did; maybe even better."

"If you say so, ghoul." Blitzwolfer chuckled. "Ya want me ta walk ya to your class?"

Draculaura blushed a furious red before she stood up on her tip-toes and kiss Blitzwolfer on the tip of his nose; the Loboan happily wagged his tail back and forth as Draculaura scratched him under the chin and behind one of his ears at the same time, eliciting a happy whine from Blitzwolfer as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

"Ghoul, I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship." Blitzwolfer chuckled happily as he took Draculaura's petite hand in his massive claws and walked her down the hall; his tail never stopped wagging until he got to his next class.

 **And there we go, peoples!**

 **Let me know what you thought of this one-shot down below. Was it good? Was it bad? Does it involve a clown from Calamazoo (alright, that last one probably doesn't apply to this)? Either way, I hoped you thoroughly enjoyed it.**

 **Don't forget to vote which ghoul you want to see next on my latest poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 _ **Hasta Luego!**_


	3. Script Writing

**Greetings and _bienvenue_ , everyone! I have returned with yet another chapter of my one-shot series!**

 **Now, I didn't think this was possible, but it seems some clarifications are in order. "WAM" means "We're All Monsters", the title of the story you should probably read for _this_ story to make more sense. I thought I was being obvious, but I guess I wasn't clear enough. Oh, well.**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . the oldest sister of Wolf family, Clawdia!**

 **As always, the poll will be reset after the chapter is posted, so don't forget to vote! And also, please forgive me if I did portray Clawdia correctly; I haven't the time nor the resources to watch _Frights, Camera, Action!_ so, I haven't the foggiest how Clawdia would behave.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

"Ah, it feels good to be home." Clawdia sighed happily as she walked down the sidewalk of New Salem, her notebook and pencil clutched tightly in her hand as she took in the fresh air. Finally, after nearly seven months without a break, her superiors had granted her a two week vacation to unwind and catch up with family.

Unfortunately, that was not the only reason why the eldest of the Wolf siblings was in New Salem. In a nutshell, her job was on the line; she needed to write a whole new script for an entirely new and original movie without stepping on toes, figuratively speaking. What was even worse, was that she had the worse case of writer's block known to Monster. It seemed no matter what she wrote or came up, scribbled down in her notebook or any other piece of paper within the vicinity, it had done to death by other Monsters before her.

The _Vampire Majesty_ series had come to an end after a total of thirty-nine movies, three of which had been scripted by her, _Scary Stone_ had been a success, but the producers wanted to try a different writer for the script, leaving Clawdia without a job. When she was given the final chance to write an entirely new script for a brand new, original movie of her own design, she had quickly excepted, hoping that this would be the job that pulled her out of the drink and shake her fur dry. Now if she could only find some inspiration.

With her mind distracted, she effortlessly maneuvered the streets of New Salem with barely any attention as she weaved through the limited crowds of Monsters that dotted the streets as she headed to the park; maybe some peace and quiet would get her out of her funk. She was about to cross the street and head towards Skellington Park, when a sudden tremor shook the ground, shaking her out of her trance to look around. Another tremor shook the ground, startling and worrying more the surrounding civilians as they fearfully looked around for the source of the noise.

A sudden roar, like that of some kind of massive animal, rattled the area as more tremors rocked the ground and shattered all of the windows in the surrounding area. Clawdia, clapped her hands over her sensitive ears as she looked for the source of the noise when she suddenly caught sight of it.

An empty convenience store just down the street exploded into brick and wood as a massive creature ripped through the sturdy building as if it were nothing more than paper and cloth. It looked like it had once been an alligator, maybe even a crocodile at one point, but whatever had been done it had twisted it far beyond its original shape. The creature was a muddy blue in color, as if someone had taking a perfectly good booberry smoothy and shoved a cupful of dirt into it before mixing the two together into a disgusting beverage. The beast had two, strong tails that split out from the base of the spine and ran about as long as the entire creature's body before stopping with sharp, blood red spikes splitting out from the top and sides, effectively making them lethal weapons of destruction. With its armored tails to support it, the beast balanced on to, well muscled legs that looked like they were more adapted for swimming rather than walking as the creature awkwardly lumbered through the wreckage. Horn-like spikes jutted out from the sides like armor of sorts with long, blood red spikes sprouting from the base of the neck and running down towards the middle of the back before stopping. A pair of rather awkward looking arms sat just behind the head, the small fingers tipped with razor sharp claws that easily tore through the brick and mortar of the convenience store. The head was very much like that of a crocodile, but with massive, saber-like teeth jutting up and down from both jaws with a pair of small horns jutting up from the snout and a large pair arching from the head like a bull's.

What made the thing even more frightening than it already was, was the fact that it seemed to be controlled by a madman; sitting on the creature's head right between the horns was what seemed to be a mad scientist of sorts. He had pale, yellow skin and bone white hair that sat in a small mane on his scrawny shoulders that were hidden under a green lab coat that hid the majority of his body, with black, rubber gloves sitting on his hands and heavy boots sitting on his feet. The most interesting feature about him however, was that the entire top half of his head was encased in a clear, glass dome, showcasing his brain with a pair of metal antennae sprouting out from the top over his red tinted goggles and sharp teeth.

"Go, my pet! Destroy all in your path!" the mad man cackled as the mutant alligator roared and suddenly let out a jet of flame from its wicked jaws, striking a car and roaring even louder when the vehicle exploded. The civilians started to panic, screaming in fear as they ran away or took to the skies if they possessed wings; they were quickly targeted by the massive alligator and were nearly consumed by the flames sent their way had their years of flying experience not saved them from being barbecued. Clawdia herself was equally terrified, yet equally fascinated at the same time, whipping out her iCoffin to snap quick photos as she made her retreat.

Unfortunately, the bright flashes of her iCoffin's camera caught the attention of the mutated reptile, irritating it severely as it dropped down to all fours and rushed at her, its opposing legs lifting off the ground as the others pushed it forward before they were slammed into the road to propell it forward even further, much like a lizard; a gigantic, fire-breathing lizard that was trying to eat her that is. The werewolf clutched her notebook and pen even tighter as she snapped one last picture and made her getaway, running as fast as she could.

Sadly, Clawdia forgot that she was utterly hopeless when it came to athletics, and the fact that she had decided to wear her favorite pair of golden heels only made her pathetic attempt to run away all the more fruitlessly as her feet failed her and she tripped, landing roughly on the sidewalk and scrapping her elbows and knees and knocking her notebook and iCoffin out of her hands. Her yellow eyes were wide with fear as she scrambled onto her back to see the mutant alligator with its mad doctor rider approaching faster than before, the jaws wide open to swallow her whole or catch her and crush her frail body with one swift movement; she hoped that her death would be swift and that the beast wouldn't take the time to consider how to end her.

"Hey, Freakimo!"

Clawdia glanced behind her as the beast came to a stop upon the mad scientist pulling back on its horns to see who had dared to insult him; a tall, human boy with a skinny, yet muscled figure and pale skin stood in the street, a defient smirk on his face. Bright, green orbs sat in the sockets of his skull, overshadowed only by his dark, ebony hair. He wore a dark, black T-shirt with trimmed, green sleeves running along his shoulders and connecting at the color where they ran down in a long, green stripe down the middle of the front and black; smack dab in the center of his chest was a white, number 10 trimmed in green. Encompassing his legs were a pair of brown pants with pockets at the knees and green and white shoes on his feet; strapped securely to his wrist was a white and green watch with a black face plate that had two, green lines forming an hourglass symbol on it.

"Ben Tennyson!" the doctor spat angrily. "How in the name of mutation did you follow me here!?"

"Lucky for everyone in New Salem, I was already here." Ben shrugged. "Some kind of dimensional rip or something; probably how you got here too. Either way, I'm gonna have to kick your butt."

"Hah! You can try, dear boy, but this time your blue furred friend isn't here to save you!" the mad doctor cackled. "And it's Dr. Animo! _Doctor!_ "

"You keep telling yourself that." Ben's smirk deepened further; Clawdia peeked through her hands as she was sure the boy was about to die right before her very eyes when he did the strangest thing and taped the watch on his wrist and held his fingers there for a few seconds before he raised his hand above his head and slapped the watch face, a sudden burst of green light swallowing him whole. His bones and muscles dissolved into a thick soup, coursing through his body as his organs vanished one by one to be replaced by some sort of complex nervous system took over and replaced them. He could feel every fiber of his being, every cell in his body separate from each other, becoming lose and uneven. The cells became flexible and slimy, melting down into a puddle of greenish ooze as the watch on his wrist reconfigured into another type of device that buzzed and floated above the ground. After a few seconds, the device buzzed over the puddle of goo and flew upwards, the puddle following it like a magnet as it molded itself into a crude, humanoid figure with random, feeler-like protrusions stick out of his arms and neck as two eyes formed on the face and the head dripped down into something that resembled a beak.

Clawdia's eyes widened as she watched Goop lift off the ground and rush right at the massive mutant where he sudden splattered all over its snout before swirling his body and bouncing right off, the greenish goo following wherever the strange, little device went; Clawdia scrambled to her feet while Dr. Animo was distracted by the Polymorph and rushed down an alleyway and climbing up a ifre escape to the safety of the rooftops before she whipped out her iCoffin and began to video record the battle without either party beneath her knowing.

"Get off, you insolent goobag!" Animo snapped as Goop buzzed through the air around the mad scientist's mutant, effortlessly dodging snaps of the beasts jaws and the jets of flame that came shooting from it.

"Eat hot acid, you quack!" the Polymorph cackled, his voice sound high-pitched and actually quite ridiculous as paused in the air and raised his hands before twin jets of a hot, green liquid shot out from his palms and his the alligator in the face, seeping into its nostrils and eyes; the animal bellowed in agony as it dropped down to all fours again, furiously scratching at its eyes to get the offending liquid out of them before it finally had enough and rushed over to a fire hydrant and closed it jaws around it before effortlessly yanking it out of the ground and dousing itself in the resulting spray, growling with pleasure as it was alleviated from its misery.

"Hmmm. Time for a change of face." Goop mused to himself before he raised a slimy hand and slapped the strange device over his head and engulfed himself in another flash of green light. Thick, shaggy fur started to sprout all over his body as his skeleton crunched and rose upwards, adding to his height dramatically. His jaw jutted out into an ape-like fashion as his lower teeth made a sound equivalent to cracking ice and grew into sharp canines that curved up over his upper lip in a large under bite. His arms and shoulders swelled with muscle and tissue as his legs doubled in thickness just as his feet ripped through his shoes, his big toe twisting out into a fourty-five degree angle like that of a chimp's. His fingers grew larger and more muscled, designed perfectly for smashing thins; the final transformation was the sudden appearance of a metallic, three horned prong suddenly appearing above his eyes, making him look angered and serious as metallic popped out of his wrists just as a green belt formed around his waist with the strange symbol on the front.

"Time fer a little _shock_ an' awe!" Shocksquatch cracked as his fur crackled with electricity; with a grunt, he jammed a heavy fist into the pavement and sent out a sudden burst of electricity through the road, a satisfied grin crossing the Gimlinopithecus's face when the mutant alligator screeched in agony as it was electrocuted; Animo gave off a scream that was similar to a chimpanzee with its butt on fire and itching powder in its fur. With his opponent distracted and dazed for a few precious seconds, Shocksquatch rushed at him and slammed into him, managing to tackle the massive animal on its back and slug it twice in the throat with a crackling fist before he moved onto Animo and left the dazed creature alone.

"Eh, what's up, doc?" Shocksquatch grinned as he grabbed hold of the alligator's horns and swung his lower body forward, kicking Animo in the chest and sending him sprawling.

"At the moment, I'm trying to get rid of you!" Dr. Animo snapped angrily. "Come, my pet! Protect your master!" he commanded the alligator as it gave a sudden heft and managed to roll over onto its stomach. The movement threw Shocksquatch off balance for a second, allowing the alligator to catch him in its jaws and shake its head like a bulldog.

"Ow, eh! Let go me, eh!" Shocksquatch demanded.

"Not until you surrender, you feckless primate!" Dr. Animo snarled.

"I tried to give ya a chance, eh." Shocksquatch grunted as elecricity coursed through his fur and body, his eyes flashing white with energy as Dr. Animo and his mutant pet lit up like a dual pair of Christmas trees, screaming and bellowing in agony until the mutant alligator gave a final shudder and cough before slumping to the ground, unconscious; or possibly even dead. Animo, still suffering from short shocks every few seconds, climbed off his pet and attempted to make a run for it as Shocksquatch pried himself lose from the alligator's jaws.

"Well, no need to be rude, eh!" Shocksquatch grunted as he clapped his hands together and fired off a beam of concentrated electricity at Dr. Animo and succeeded in hitting him; the mad scientist gave a moan and collapsed to the road.

"Curse you, Ben Tennyson! Curse you and your meddling ways!" he cried feebly before slipping into unconsciousness.

"Meddling as they maybe, I'm just doin' my job, eh." Shocksquatch smirked as he was suddenly engulfed in a flash of green light to be replaced by the human boy Clawdia had seen before fleeing. The werewolf was ecstatic at what she saw; finally, after what seemed an eternity of writer's block and lame excuses for scripts, she finally had a brilliant idea to work with! She could already feel the gears turning in her head as she made guesses as to how the mysterious boy behaved and how he got his powers, weaving her thoughts together into a complex story line that just might be thrilling enough to be turned into a movie. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she barely even noticed the boy himself.

"You okay?"

Clawdia startled and looked down to see the boy looking up at her, a curious expression as if he were studying her and contemplating whether she was a threat or not. "Y-yes! Yes, I'm fine." she stammered, trying to collect her thoughts. "Can you just hold on a second? I'd like to ask you a few questions." she called down.

"Sure." Ben shrugged, waiting as the werewolf gathered up her notebook and pen before shoving her iCoffin into her pocket and turning around to run down the fire escape when her heels slipped on a patch of rain water and sent her tumble back and over the edge! She barely any time to scream with surprise before she was tumbling through the air towards the ground, her body tensed up and ready to sustain any damage dealt to her during the short fall; instead, there was a slight jolt and then nothing. She cracked open her eyes to see that Ben had managed to dive underneath her and catch her in his arms, albeit with some difficulty.

"That's two times I've had to save you in the past ten minutes. You sure you don't want to be be your body guard or something?" he cracked as Clawdia felt herself blush slightly as Ben set her body on the ground and rubbed his wrists. "So what did you want to ask me?"

"How about you and me go grab a coffee or something? There are quite a lot of questions I'd like to ask you." she admitted.

"Ten minutes since I met you, and we're already on a date." Ben joked as Clawdia rolled her eyes, despite the warm sensation in her cheeks.

* * *

"Thanks for paying for the coffee." Clawdia said as she took a sip of her decaf.

"Don't mention it."

"I appreciate the gesture, but do you really have to be like that?" Clawdia wondered.

"Like what?"

"Why did you turn into a werewolf before coming to the Maul with me?" Clawdia sighed.

"First off, it's called a Loboan," Blitzwolfer corrected her as he took a sip of his own coffee, his claws just barely managing to hold onto the slippery, plastic cup. "Second, it was the first monster alien I came across, alright? And thirdly, this is just so I don't draw suspicion."

"I suppose a Normie in a Maul full of Monsters would raise a few eyebrows.

"Tell me about it," Blitzwolfer grumbled. "The first time I transformed, all the people started screaming for help, even though I was just trying to stop a bank robbery. I take it Monsters and Normies don't get along very well?"

"You have no idea." Clawdia sighed. "But enough about me. I wanna hear about you." she said as she pulled out her notebook and pen.

"What do ya wanna know?" Blitzwolfer asked. "I mean, besides the obvious."

"Lets start there." Clawdia suggested.

The Loboan shrugged and leaped into his whole back story about the Omnitrix and how he obtained it; this led to further questions from Clawdia asking about Gwen and Grandpa Max and then even Vilgax which soon ran off into a whole medley of adventures and escapades that Clawdia found utterly fascinating; she wrote down every detail she could pick up down in her notebook before they eventually spilled into a conversation about Ben's alien forms and how he came to New Salem. This soon led into a discussion about Professor Paradox that went into Blitzwolfer explaining the mechanics of time as best as he could to her. And all the while, she had been eagerly writing everything down; now that she knew all the details, a script was already starting to form in her mind about what she could do with this information.

"Hey . . . uh, I need to ask you something." Clawdia spoke up from her notes and interrupting Blitzwolfer's tale of the time he destroyed and recreated a universe.

"Shoot." Blitzwolfer growled, licking his chops as he got the last of the coffee out of his fur.

"What would you say if I made a movie of you?" she asked.

"For what, a school film or somthin'?"

"Actually, I'm a script writer for Hauntlywood." Clawdia admitted. "I was on vacation with a horrible case of writer's block. That is, until I met you."

"So you want to make my life story some kind of big, Hollywood movie production?" Blitzwolfer raised an eyebrow.

"In a nutshell, yes." Clawdia nodded.

The Loboan rubbed his chin with a claw as he thought it over, a hopefully expression on Clawdia's face as she watched him think. "If I let you do this, would there be any changes to your script? Because, no offense, back in my universe I've had several really bad movies made about me."

"I've never had anyone change my script," Clawdia said firmly. "And if they do, I'll fight fang and claw to keep it original."

"Alright. I guess this is a good way to boost my image up for the inevitable moment when my identity is revealed." Blitzwolfer shrugged. "On two conditions though."

"What's that?" Clawdia asked.

"One, I either play myself, or I play my aliens." the Loboan said gruffly. "I ain't having some dude in a rubber costume saving the day. Two . . . go out on another date with me?" he asked.

Clawdia did a double take as she spit out the mouthful of coffee she had been taking upon hearing those words; Blitzwolfer glowered with annoyance as hot decaf dripped from his fur and onto the floor in a steady rain of liquid cocoa.

"So, is that a no?" the Loboan asked as he shook himself dry.

"Well . . . no, I mean . . . honestly, I've never been asked out by someone before." Clawdia admitted, her face turning a deep maroon.

"It's cool. I understand if ya don't want to." Blitzwolfer shrugged as he heaved himself out of his chair and stretched his legs. "I guess I'll see ya around." he waved farewell as he made his way out of the Coffin Bean and towards the doors; the Maul was closing down anyways, with the last minute shoppers slowly making their way towards the exits. It wasn't until he had just pushed open the door as the Omnitrix timed out and returned him to his original, human form did he feel a hand on his shoulder.

Ben turned around to see Clawdia standing a good six inches or so with a slightly pained expression. "I never said no." she smiled as she hugged him. "How about tomorrow around lunch so we can work out the details on the script?" she suggested with a grin.

"Sure. I'll see you then. That is, if I'm not saving the day." he joked.

"I'd like that." Clawdia smiled as she bent down and kissed Ben full on the lips before she got back up and sauntered out of the Maul with a smile on her lips, a blush on her face, and a swing in her hips, leaving Ben to just stand there flabbergasted.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Ben shook her head with a slight grin.

 **And there we go, man-sters and ghouls!  
**

 **I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile for which ghoul you want to see next chapter!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	4. Undead Heart Ache

_**Ahhiiieeeyaaah,**_ **man-sters and ghouls! I have returned from the grave!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . everyone's favorite brainiac, Ghoulia!**

 **What did you think of my Zombie? I've been practicing.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Cupid sighed as the crystal ball went dead on her bed from lack of touch. She had been watching it for roughly half an hour or so, watching carefully as the images of Ben and her friends from Monster High waltzed across the smooth surface; some she didn't recognize, but it didn't take much of a genius for her to recognize that the alternate versions of them and Ben really had something special.

It made her depressed to see that almost anyone was better at finding love than her. And it seemed that so far, it was only Ben making the advances on the girls instead of the other way around. An idea suddenly struck Cupid like a lightning bolt as she quickly checked the time; Blonde wouldn't be back for another hour or so. Maybe in that time she could find a universe where the ghouls were making the advancements on Ben. Hopefully, she would be able to pick up some tips on how to catch Dexter's attention.

With a determined breath, Cupid sat up on her bed and leaned back on the mound of soft pillows stacked up at the head before grabbing the crystal ball and setting it in her lap as she rubbed her hands over the surface of orb; hopefully it would able to read her mind and allow her to see what she desired as it shimmered and glowed with color.

* * *

There he was again.

Ghoulia clutched her books a little tighter as she peeked out of the corner of her eye, not daring to tear her gaze away from her locker; Spidermonkey scampered along the top of the lockers with his textbooks and papers in one set of arms so that the other set could push him along. The Archnachimp suddenly launched himself from the edge of the row of lockers and fired off a jet of silk from his tail that stuck firmly to the ceiling and allowed him to swing across the gap in the hallway and to the other set of lockers, high-fiving several Monsters as he swung along.

It almost boggled her intelligent mind how a Normie of all creatures could so effortlessly fit into a school filled to the brim with Monsters that were notorious for being frightened or uneasy around humans, Jackson being the one exception; and yet, Ben had done it. Sure there had been a panic when everyone discovered that there was a Normie within their midst, but Headmistress Bloodgood had reassured everyone that Ben was not there to hurt them, but was merely the first step into integrating Normies into Monster High and hopefully breaking down the barriers between the two species.

This had been met with incredible discomfort, and Ben had been picked on and tortured for the first few days after his identity had been revealed, but the wearing of the Omnitrix had all taken it within stride and had quickly proven himself a valuable asset to the Monster high student body; when Clawd had accidentally broken his leg and kept him from playing in the casketball, football, track team, and SKRM tournaments for nearly a month, Ben had stepped up and taken his place and won Monster High a first place trophy in every category before stepping down for Clawd when he was fully healed; when the werewolves and vampires of Monster High had once again been tricked into another senseless feud, Ben had effortlessly infiltrated both sides and resolved the issue by the end of the day with Toralei getting a week of detention for causing the mess in the first place.

Now Ben was a respective member of several sports teams in Monster High, everything from the swim team to baseball and had gained the understanding and trust of nearly every species within the halls of Monster High. In addition to that, it was no secret that Ben had gained the attention of several ghouls, meaning he had quite a fan base, especially since he was single.

Even Ghoulia had a small crush on the shape-shifting Normie, though she doubted he would ever find anyone like her attractive; quite a few Monsters looked down on zombies, seeing them something inferior and to abuse whenever they wished. Ben however didn't see it that way and often traveled the halls of Monster High in an alien form that highly resembled a zombie, something called an Ormerowon. Ghoulia hadn't managed to see the form herself, but she was glad that Ben had selflessly raised self awareness of the zombie's plight, gaining them a whole new respect.

That was what Ghoulia admired about the Normie boy that had managed to gain the respect and affection of an entire generation of Normie-hating Monsters; he never saw any one species as superior to the others, nor did he see any one species as inferior. Sure, he held some students and teachers in higher regards than others, but he treated them all the same. He never treated the powerful and demanding Cleo any different than he treated the green obsessed Venus or the timid and rarely seen Jane Boolittle. In fact, Ben was one of the few people who could safely say he had seen and interacted with her on a daily basis, often seen sitting down in front of the vents and talking to them as he took notes and slid them between the slots only to have them slid back out a few minutes later with several corrections sometimes made to them.

A flash of green light caught her attention as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world with a confident and warm smile as he jumped down from the row of lockers and down onto the floor with his books tucked under his arm. Ghoulia felt a light blush cross her face when she suddenly realized that he was heading her way; now was her chance to say something to him! But what if he didn't understand Zombie? Would he simply look at her blankly and not understand a word of what she said? She didn't have a chance to worry much longer when he actually came up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Ghoulia?"

He remembered her name! He actually knew who she was! With a deep breath, Ghoulia turned on her heel to face him, coming about even with his chest and having to tilt her head upwards to actually look him in the eyes. "Can I borrow for Mad Science? I wasn't able to take any; rescuing Monsters from a fire during last period." he explained sheepishly; in addition to his dedication to Monster High, Ben often extended his services to hero work, taking down bad guys and rescuing people when the authorities couldn't.

"Ayeeaaah." Ghoulia nodded, digging around in her locker to pull out the desired pieces of paper with perfect print careful scratched onto it among diagrams and measurements. "Aiiiieeeyyaaahhh." she added.

Ben nodded. "Thanks, Ghoulia. I always get dragon claws and harpy talons mixed up." he chuckled. "I'll see you in class." he waved good-bye and continued down the hallway.

Ghoulia felt like she was going to just live from happiness; he had actually understood her! He actually knew what she said and responded correctly! It wasn't like those times where other Monsters only responded with a simple nod or shake of their head when they were unsure of what she had said, he had actually understood every word she said! He made her undead heart flutter as she sighed happily and peered into the depths of her locker where she had a small picture of him posing with the rest of the casketball team on the front steps of Monster High with the winning trophy high above their heads in triumph. He made her undead heart beat faster, her stomach tie up into horrible knots, her mind pulse and race for an answer she could never find; it seemed scientifically impossible, but Ghoulia was absolutely astounded by Ben.

But how could she possibly him hers? Did he only her as a friend or someone to ask questions when he wasn't sure of something? How could she ever gain his attention or know how he felt about her. She was so deep in thought that she barely noticed her friends coming up the hall to her until Cleo had called her name almost three times before she was shaken from her thoughts.

"Is something wrong Ghoulia?" Cleo asked, raising an eyebrow. "You seem a bit . . . distracted."

"You're usually so focused. What's going on?" Frankie asked.

"Ahhhhhiieeeahh." Ghoulia sighed.

"Oh, you like Ben, but you're not sure if he likes you?" Clawdeen translated.

"Of course he likes you!" Draculaura laughed. "Ben likes everyone!"

"But Ghoulia likes 'im in a different way, mate. Just like me and Gil." Lagoona explained to the slightly naïve vampire. "No worries, mate. Just be yourself and tell 'im how ya feel."

"But what if Ben doesn't feel the same way?" Cleo reminded them all. "After all, he's got ghoul's attention all over school. What are the chances he'll notice Ghoulia?" As mean sounding as it was, Cleo was merely saying what everyone else wasn't willing to; how could Ben possibly ever notice someone like Ghoulia when there were far more attractive ghouls out there.

"Ben likes aliens, right?" Draculaura tapped her chin in thought. "Maybe if you make one of those Omniwhatsies, you can get his attention!"

I don't really think that's the best idea." Frankie shook her head, but it seemed only Lagoona heard as the other ghouls were too busy voicing their opinion on the idea; even the reasonable Ghoulia was eager about the idea as calculations started to formalize in her head.

"This isn't gonna end well, is it?" Frankie sighed.

"No, no it's not, mate." Lagoona shook her head.

Finally, after nearly two weeks of endless tinkering that was only interrupted by the need to attend classes, perform chores, and partake in necessary bodily needs and functions, it was done. After gallons of sweat, blood, and monumental amounts of coffee, Ghoulia had finally finished her own Omnitrix. In truth, it was rather primitive compared to Ben's, but it worked on the same principle; the only downside to it was that it could only perform one transformation every couple of hours or so and it was still in testing, but her friends were getting restless and her patience of waiting was starting to wear thin when she saw Ben talking to other ghouls in what seemed to be a flirtatious manner.

"You ready, ghoul?" Clawdeen asked.

"Ayyyeahh." Ghoulia nodded as she glanced at the heavy, white and red armband-like device fixed to her wrist.

"Then go get him!" Draculaura giggled happily, clapping her hands as she jumped up and down. Frankie and Lagoona, supportive as they had been, shared worried looks as Ghoulia pressed her finger to the watch face and waited the few seconds it would take for it to except her as the proper owner and let her in; the device beeped and waited patiently as Ghoulia twisted the outer ring clockwise to cycle through the limited transformations she had managed to acquire samples of from Ben's aliens. She settled on the Conductoid icon, remembering that it was a particular favorite of Ben's, and pressed down on the activation button, waiting for it to begin.

But nothing happened.

"Are you sure you did it right?" Cleo asked, peering at the knock off Omnitrix with a calculating look.

"Maybe you forgot to plug it in or something?" Draculaura suggested.

Lagoona sighed. "Ghouls, it didn't work. We need to try something different."

"Yeah, we need to go back to the drawin' board." Clawdeen said firmly.

"No! That's not at all what I-" Lagoona started to protest when the armband shuddered and gave off a nasty spark of energy that sent the ghouls running for cover as Ghoulia was suddenly consumed in a flash of red light. And before the ghoul's very eyes, their friend was changed into something new, something the likes of the world had never seen before in all its days of weirdness.

The skin around Ghoulia's skull start to split and crack like mud under the hot sun until it had peeled away to reveal pulsing, red tissue and blood until that had been stripped away by the forces of the watch to reveal nothing but white bone; Draculaura had fainted a long time ago as Ghoulia's skull made a cracking sound and slowly turned upside down as her head was suddenly engulfed in fire, the bone blackening from the sheer heat as the changes continued. Her left arm twitched violently as her pale skin flashed a bright cyan and began to harden quickly, her bones and muscles fusing together with her changing skin to turn into a tough, organic crystal that allowed two, long, white tentacles suddenly tear out of her large arm and whip around in the air as blue, lightning-like patterns drifted across the surface while her fingers thickened and swelled in size. Her back expanded and grew larger and larger as large boulders and rocks crept across her skin and formed tough, island-like structures as her skin turned an inky black in color; Ghoulia's arm then caught up with the transformation as arm became long and elastic as her bones and muscle dissolved into a liquid and her skin flashed a neon green color as two, thick, white bands formed on her upper arm and wrist and held her new, ooze-like limb as her fingers fused together into a long, slimy tentacle and the two arm bands flashed dull green with a toxic energy of sorts. Her legs swelled in size and strength as bones swam to the surface of her skin and fused together into a exoskeleton that bent her knees backwards with a webbing of sorts forming between the joints as four, blue toes ripped out of her shoes, two in the front and two in the back, that held a shiny, black ball between them. A loud, cracking noise filled the air as a long, elastic tail colored the shade of the night sky and tipped with a golden plug of sorts as a red and black Omnitrix disk appeared on a red and white belt around her waist as a pair of shorts and a tank top of the same color formed over her new form.

"G-Ghoulia? Is that you?" Frankie said worriedly as she peered around the corner she had taken cover behind.

"You okay, ghoul?" Clawdeen asked.

Ghoulia blinked her pale, red eyes and slowly nodded her head as she looked over herself; she took a good four feet tall than any of the ghouls and was utterly massive in size. Her left arm was that of a Petrosapien with two Amperi tentacles jammed into her elbow and her right arm was a long, slimy Polymorph tentacle with two canister-like bands that looked like they came from Atomix. Her back had the familiar rust red islands that Galileans were known for with a long Conductoid tail sprouting from the base of her spine. Her skull belonged to that of an Ectonurite and Pyronite while her legs were that of a Kinceleran and Crashhopper's. "Hhhhaaaaaaayyaahh?"

"Do you want the truth?" Cleo cocked an eyebrow; Ghoulia nodded.

"Y-you look . . . _really_ horrible." Draculaura admitted. "This was a _really_ bad idea, wasn't it?"

"I tried to warn you." Frankie sighed, rubbing her temples. "We need to fix this."

"How?" Clawdeen frowned.

"Ben might have-" Frankie started before Ghoulia suddenly lashed out with her Polymorph tentacle wrapped it around Frankie's mouth, silencing her.

"Ghoulia's right, Frankie. Ben can't see her like this." Cleo shook her head.

"Like what?"

All of the ghouls yelped and startled as they whipped their heads down the hallway to see Ben standing there with his arms folded over his chest and a confused look on his face; Lagoona stood by his side, an apologetic look on her face as she gestured for the ghouls to follow her as Ghoulia released her hold on Frankie and set her down on the ground to follow.

"Ghoulia? Is that you?" Ben asked.

"Aaaeeeeeiiiaaa." Ghoulia admitted sadly after a few seconds of hesitation.

"What did you do to yourself?" Ben wondered as he walked over and examined her Petrosapien arm, ducking under the Amperi tentacles as they thrashed about and crackled with electricity.

"Eeeeaaaayyaaaiih." Ghoulia sighed as she sat down on the floor and let Ben look her over.

"Well, at least you were smart enough to set it differently than my Omnitrix, unlike Albedo." Ben grumbled under his breath. "And for the like of me, I have no idea how to possibly even fix this. But I think I know who might." he added as he turned to his own Omnitrix and cycled through the roster and selected the alien he was looking for before slapping the activation button and engulfing himself in a bright, green light as his DNA was warped and twisted into something new. His skin turned a light blue and smooth and slimy in texture as his arms sucked back into his shoulders with a loud cracking sound until all that was left were his hands hanging limp at his side. His jaw jutted outwards as his skeleton became thinner and more flexible than before, a set of gills appearing behind his jaws; a shark-like fin rose from his back region as his neck became non-existent, his head fusing with his chest as his body shrank and became more rotund. His legs shrank until they were practically sticks with feet attached to them and a loud, cracking sound caught his attention as a small fish tail popped out from the base of his spine. A green chest brace with the Omnitrix at its center materialized on his body, completing the transformation.

"Uh, let me try that again." Walkatrout smiled sheepishly. The Ickthyperambuloid raised a fin and smacked the Omnitrix a second time, swallowing himself in another flash of green light. The first noticeable change was his size; he quickly shrank down from his good, six-foot frame to somewhere just a little under five inches. His skin darkened and turned a gray color as it became smooth and slimy to the touch while his bones ground and crunched, becoming more flexible and soft. He felt his feet each lose toes and become webbed as his hands each lost a single finger. His eyes grew wide and light green in color as they bulged out from his skull. The most dramatic change that Ben felt was he felt his brain split into two, right down the middle as one of them halves shrank and became slightly smaller than the other; he suddenly understood the world around him and its inner workings, complex equations and hundreds of plans formulating in his head as a black and green jumpsuit appeared on him with the Omnitrix fastened to his back.

"Now then, lets see what the problem is, shall we?" Grey Matter hummed as he hopped up onto Ghoulia's arm and then to her shoulder to then slid down her chest to the Omnitrix fastened to her waist; the Galvan rested his ear to the disk and listened careful, nodding and mumbling notes to himself as he continued the examination. "Yes, the Bio-feedback is there; it would explain how you were turned into a collage of different alien parts."

"Eyyyaaah?" Ghoulia moaned.

"Yes, it should be reversible. If you will give me a moment." he raised a finger as he reached with his other hand to slap the Omnitrix attached to his back and encompassed himself in a third flash of green light. His skin turned a dark, midnight black that raced up his arms and legs and covered his face as his eyes widened into large almonds before melting together into a single, green orb. His teeth became sharp as his toes ground and molded together into two claws; he felt an itching sensation at the base of his spine and craned his neck to watch a long, elastic-like tail stretch out behind him, a growth forming on the end that resembled a forked plug. His fingertips became hard and metallic, morphing into cube-like shapes as muscles piled themselves up on his arms and chest. Two, long antennae suddenly shot out from his skull, unrolling behind him like dreadlocks as forked plugs formed on their ends as his chest and torso turned a dark shade of green; the Omnitrix appeared on his chest as a sharp, tingling feeling appear in his fingers.

"This should do the trick." Feedback grinned as he raised his anteanne and tail. "Now hold still; this might hurt a little." he added as he suddenly thrust the metallic ends of his antennae into her chest and plugged the end of his tail into the Omnitrix attached to her belt. Ghoulia suddenly gave off a loud screech as energy pulsed along her arms and legs, siphoning into the Conductoid's tail and anteanne as the collage of alien parts started to disappear to be replaced by the familiar features of Ghoulia; the Polymorph tentacle turned a pale gray in color and snapped loudly as it bent in two places in its middle and towards the end, the very tip splitting into five digits as it became solid once more. Her flaming skull was extinguished as it rotated right-side up and started to regain its missing tissue and skin as Ghoulia shrank in size and mass. Her Petrosapien arm withered into something far weaker and less strong as her skin softened and paled in color as her leg joints were thrust back forwards as her feet quickly regained their original shape with a series of short and painful sounding snaps and crunches that put Feedback's nerves on edge. The long tail that stretched out from her spine slowly slithered back into her as the rocks dotting her back smoothed out into her skin. Slowly, ever so slowly, her old self started to reappear from the mess of body parts she had become until the entire mess was gone and reduced to the armband attached to her wrist.

"There we go. Good as new." Feedback chuckled as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world in a flash of green light.

"Aiiieeeaaah." Ghoulia groaned.

"No problem. It's what I do." Ben shrugged. "But can you at least tell me why you did that to yourself?"

"Eeeyyaaaaiieeeeaaah." Ghoulia moaned sadly, covering her eyes as she fell back against the wall and slid down to the floor in embarrassment.

"Wait, you did this, _all_ of this, just because you like me?" Ben summed up as he sat down next to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders; Ghoulia sniffed and nodded.

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Ben wondered.

"Eyyaaaaayyaaaiiee. Ahhhiiee." Ghoulia groaned in response.

"Ah, you were afraid that I would reject you?" Ben guessed.

"Ehhhhaaaaayaah." Ghoulia nodded.

"Well, to be fair, I always thought you were attractive." Ben admitted. "You're kind, sweet, and the smartest person I've ever met; even Brainstorm would be jealous of your massive intellect."

"Yeeeiiaaah?" Ghoulia moaned, her cheeks blushing bright red.

"Of course I mean all that! I mean it all and so much more!" Ben exclaimed before something dawned on him. "What say you and me go grab some coffee or something?"

"Aaaiiieeeeyyaahh?" Ghoulia groaned as they both stood up; she set a hand on the armband around her wrist and tore it off and tossed it to the ground before crushing it underneath her foot and firmly destroying it, much to her satisfaction.

"Sure. We can stop by Brain Burger if you want." Ben smiled. Ghoulia blinked and suddenly did something so rash and unusual, it almost made her highly enhanced brain explode. She lunged and wrapped her arms around Ben, hugging him tightly as she rested her head against his chest and heard his strong heartbeat against her ear drum. It was few seconds before Ben returned the hug and held her against him body, rubbing his hand up and down her back in a comforting movement that sent shivers down Ghoulia's spine.

"Ahhieeee?" Ghoulia mumbled.

"Of course I'll be your boyfriend. How could I reist someone so cute and smart at the same time?" Ben chuckled as he bent over and kissed Ghoulia. On the lips.

The movement was so sudden, so quick, that Ghoulia had no chance to ever possibly prepare for it. All she could do was enjoy it and simply melt in his arms as she passionately returned the kiss by standing up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Ben's neck as he looped them around her waist.

"Ah, they're so cute together!" Frankie cooed upon seeing the two.

"I have to admit, I'm for Ghoulia. She finally has someone to share her time with." Cleo smiled.

"I told you all she had to was be herself." Clawdeen grinned.

"Really? I seem to recall you saying she needed one of those Omnitrixes to get Ben's attention." Lagoona gave her a look.

"Doesn't ring a bell." Clawdeen shrugged.

 **And there is it, ghouls and man-sters!**

 **I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed it writing it; Ghoulia is one of my favorite ghouls from the series.**

 **Don't forget to vote for which ghoul you want to see next on my poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	5. The Greatest Treasure of All

_**Ahoy, me hearties,**_ **and welcome back to** ** _Cupid's Crystal Ball_!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . the captain of the _Salty Spectre_ herself, Vandala Doubloons!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Vandala inhaled a deep breath and sighed happily; the sweet, sweet scent of salty brine and rotting fish filled her lungs and the cries of skeletal seagulls filled her ears, filling her with the pride and joy that only a proud captain of a marvelous ship. With a quick grunt, she twisted the steering wheel of the _Salty Spectre_ to the right and sent the glorious vessel powering through the Spectral Seas.

Her skeleton crew, composing of four skeletons named Femur, Clavicle, Humerus, and Carpals, as well as the crew's pet monkey named Mr. Chatters swung through the rigging and staked out in the crows nest or swabbed the deck below as they whistled a tune. Really, Vandala couldn't have been prouder; her crew was happy at work, she had a brand new treasure map to lead them to wealth and adventure, and the breeze was in their sails.

"Ahoy, captain! RAWK!"

A broad smile crept across her face as she turned to see Astrodactyl fly around the crow's nest and give Clavicle a high-five before he landed on the deck next to Vandala and bowed slightly; the alien shimmered and wavered with a dull, rust red aura and his claws were merely bony protrusions from his feet and hands. His wings were tattered and full of holes and his skin was rotting away to expose yellowing bone in certain places on his arms and chest. A flash of bright, green light suddenly swallowed him whole and returned him to his human form; or what had once been his human form anyway.

Vandala never really figured out what had happened to him, but Ben had somehow been turned into a ghost; his figure glowed a jungle green in color and flesh was rotted away to expose bone on his lower ankles and arms with a large, jagged scar over his right eye. Upon being found and taken in by Vandala, Ben had adopted an eyepatch to cover his damaged eye and scar, a black captain's jacket similar to Vandala's with a green trim and several straps and fasteners, thick, black boots that sat on his feet, and a black, captain's hat with a large, green feather in the brim. Indeed, Ben had quickly become the second in command of the _Salty Spectre_ and defended his title with a vengeance that surprised even Vandala.

"How's the weather lookin', first mate?" Vandala asked him.

"Smooth sailin' for several leagues, cap'n!" Ben saluted. "But, uh, I did see some rival pirates headin' our way, cap'n. Should I fly the Jolly Rodger?"

Vandala rubbed her chin in thought; they had had several days of smooth sailing with little to nothing to worry about. To be fair, it was getting quite dull and boring, and the crew could use some excitement regardless. A look to her left and she saw the hopeful gaze of her trusty cuttlefish, Aye, starring up at her with his irresistible eye.

"Aye, first mate! Hoist the Jolly Rodger and ready yer weapons!" she ordered.

"Hoist the Jolly Rodger and ready yer weapons!" Ben repeated for the rest of the crew to hear. Immediately, the skeletal pirates leaped into action, whipping out their swords and heading to load and man the cannons of the starboard and port sides of the ship as Clavicle remained in the crow's nest, an ever watchful eye socket on the horizon.

"Man yer stations!" Vandala yelled as she rested her hand on the handle of her sword; the weapon was a large sword with a massive, flat blade traced in swirling, golden designs similar to that of the rolling, ocean waves. The hilt was designed to looked like a large, pink octopus with its tentacles wrapped securely around the handle and dangling over the beginnings of the weapon to leave enough sharpened metal to cause damage. The sword had been a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation of pirate ghost before being passed onto Vandala when she departed from home to make a name for herself on the Spectral Seas.

"Mr. Clavicle! Do we have a visual!?" Ben called up to the crow's nest; the skeleton, notorious for never speaking, merely gave a thumbs down as he kept his spyglass on the horizon to search for the first sign of danger.

"Good. That gives me time to change costumes." Ben smirked as he turned to the Omnitrix strapped to his wrist and cycled through the available transformations before selecting the one he desired and pressed the activation button, swallowing himself in a flash of bright, green light as his genetic code was warped and twisted into something new. His skin began to harden into a smooth covering, little diamonds and crystals racing up his arms and legs to cover him as his bones disappeared altogether; his frame bent and warped as it increased in height and size as Ben felt his jawline pushed out a little ways, his teeth fusing together into two, hard plates as his head pinched back into a sharp crest. Two, sharp blades suddenly sprouted from his back as his entire body hardened into a diamond-like substance, a black and green jumpsuit materializing on him; a pair of rusty shackles clamped around his large wrists as his uniform tore in several places when random spikes popped out of his back and chest, cracks radiating through his shoulders and arms as the Omnitrix appeared attached to a belt around his waist, completing the transformation.

"Ready when ye are, cap'n." Diamondhead winked at Vandala as his right arm shifted in a long, sharpened blade made entirely of the diamonds that made up the Petrosapien's body; Vandala blushed slightly as she returned her attention to the helm and kept her sights on the horizon, her fingers itching to use her sword like a pirate was born to do so.

Sooner than she expected, she heard Mr. Chatters screeching loudly, acting as Clavicle's warning system as he jumped up and down on his owner's shoulder and beat his ribcage with his bony knuckles. Vandala pulled out her own spyglass and put it up to her eye, a wicked grin crossing her face when she caught sight of their opponents.

"Arrr! It be the Clam Knucklers!" she cackled happily; when it came to her fellow pirates on the Spectral Seas, the rag tag group of pirates called the Clam Knucklers were her favorite group to pick on. Really she was just trying to send them a message that the group of ghosts and ghouls should go back to their clam fishing days to earn a living, but the ex-fisherman never seemed to learn their lesson and were thus continuously subjected to regular attacks by Vandala's crew. So common were the attacks, that Vandala actually knew all the members of the small crew by name, age, location, and even their private hobbies, too. "Prepare yerself for battle!" she added before digging into her pocket and pulling out her iCoffin before handing it to Aye. "Make sure ye get me good side, Aye. I wanna make I get a good grade fer me Ghost Pirate class."

The little cuttlefish saluted and took the device in his tentacles before flying towards the bow of the _Salty Spectre_ to start filming; Vandala grinned and pulled her sword out of its hilt, her grip nice and tight on the handle. "Hard to port, first mate! Fire off the port side cannons!" she commanded as Diamondhead rushed to the helm and thrust the wheel towards the left. The _Salty Spectre_ shuddered and groaned as it quickly turned to face the pathetic ship the Clam Knucklers called home while the skeletal crew lit and fired off the cannons, nailing the Clam Knuckler's ship with four cannonballs.

"Prepare to be boarded, ye unseaworthy brine shrimp!" Vandala cackled as he stomped her bronze leg on the ship's railing and grabbed a spare rope to swing herself over the gap between both ships and land with a loud _boom!_ on the opposite ship. "Yarhararar!" she cackled as her skeleton crew abandoned the cannons and grabbed the boarding planks to lay across both ships and run across, swords raised above their heads as Diamondhead cleared the gap in one jump and landed with even louder noise than Vandala's landing that shook the entire ship.

"The _Twisted Oyster_ be ours!" the Petrosapien roared as one of the members of the Clam Knucklers came swinging at him with a rusty scimitar in the hopes to hopefully gain the upper hand; the weapon clanged harmlessly against Diamondhead's shoulder before the ghost that Diamondhead recognized as Frank, slashed again with his sword and left a large cut across the Petrosapien's chest, cutting his shirt but leaving his skin completely unharmed.

Vandala was having the time of her life as her sword clashed with the _Twisted Oyster's_ captain, Rusty Knuckles Mcgee. She ducked under a swipe of the phantom's sword before kicking him in the chest with her metal leg and sending him flying into the ship's steering wheel where she held him at swords point until he lashed out with his peg leg and forced her to drop to her knee where she just barely dodged a swipe of the bearded phantom's sword.

"ARRRR!" Diamondhead roared as he swung his arm and sent Frank flying against the railing he slumped to the ground, unconscious; he was quickly joined by Pirate Phantom Pete and Bad Banshee Barbara as the skeletons and Diamondhead effortlessly dealt with them and then took to looting what limited treasure the pathetic crew of clam fishers had managed to gain. "Get back to the ship and prepare to shove off!" the Petrosapien commanded the skeletal crew. "I'll grab the cap'n!"

The skeleton crew did as they were told without complaint as Diamondhead thundered across the deck and shifted his sharpened blade into a spiked ball of diamonds that he thrust in front of him and fired off a short burst of explosive diamond shards. "Fish outta water!" the Petrosapien cried out in a code he, Vandala, and the crew had created together to aid themselves in battle, making them one of the biggest scourges of the Spectral Seas.

"Aye!" Vandala cried as he swiped her sword in a wide arc, forcing Rusty Knuckles Mcgee to bend backwards as Vandala back flipped out harms way just as the explosive shards struck the deck between them and went off, covering them in a cloud of thick, black smoke and rendering the captain of the _Twisted Oyster_ blind; but not Vandala. Using the weeks of training she had forced upon Ben to better hone her fighting skills, she had grown accustomed to seeing in near total darkness, allowing her to gain the upper hand on her opponents and crack them over the head with the flat side of blade; this, she did to Rusty Knuckles Mcgee before giving a triumphing howl and flying back over to the _Salty Spectre_ as Diamondhead launched himself across the widening gap to the ship.

"Lads, ye'll look back on this day as the day you just lost to Captain Vandala Doubloons!" Vandala cackled loudly as she and her crew sailed off and left the sorry group of clam fishers behind.

* * *

It was late into the night, the merry band of pirates partied. Long into the wee hours of the morning they sang and danced and drank themselves silly over their victory of the Clam Knucklers; Clavical played a nice, peppy pirate tune on his concertina as Mr. Chatters danced to the song on a barrel while the rest of the clapped alone and accompanied the song using their ribcages as xylophones of sorts.

" _Yo, ho! Yo, ho! Is a thing that pirates say!"_ Vandala sang deliriously as she sat on a barrel with a bottle of rum in her fingers; despite the fact that she was not only roughly five years under age, pirate's were never one to really obey the rules, and this also applied to Vandala. While she was far better than most pirates and managed to behave properly at Haunted High, it was not uncommon for her to blatantly ignore the rules if it meant she could have some funs.

"Alright, cap'n, I think you've had enough." Ben chuckled as he managed to pry the empty bottle of rum from Vandala's fingers.

"Nonseense, meh hearty! De more rum a cap'n drinks, the mer powerful she becums!" Vandala protested in a drunken stupor.

"Oh, this does not bode well." Ben frowned as Vandala popped open another bottle and chugged the whole thing down with difficulty before she smashed the vial against her skull, earning a rousing cheer from her crew; the captain of the _Salty Spectre_ cackled along with her crew mates until she gave a sudden belch and clutched her stomach with a moan. With a sick expression, she jumped off of her barrel and up the stairs that led out of the galley and to the main deck where she ran over to the railing and emptied the entire contents of her stomach and then some over the side. She was vaguely aware of a reassuring hand on her back as her captain's hat was taken off of her head and her long, sweeping, blue locks were pulled back so they wouldn't be stained with the vomit pouring out of her lips and over the side.

"That's it. Take it easy." Ben rubbed her back as she continued to heave-ho over the side of the _Salty Spectre_ , the rolling waves of the ocean not helping Vandala in the slightest. "Geez, how much rum did you drink?"

"A . . . a lot . . ." Vandala admitted before she vomited again, the corrosive liquid of her stomach burning against her throat like fire. "I . . . I regret . . . I regret the decision." she panted once she was sure she wouldn't be losing anything else from her stomach for a while; Ben let go of her locks and handed her back her captain's hat as she wiped her vomit stained lips on her sleeve.

"How soon until we reach the treasure, cap'n?" Ben asked.

"Please, mate. When it's just you and me, ye can address me as Vandala." she told him. "We have about a day's travel ahead of us if we weigh anchor for the night."

"Should I take first watch then and continued on course?" Ben wondered.

Vandala shook her head. "Weigh anchor fer the night, mate. No since in being tired when we find the loot, now is there?" she smirked, punching Ben in the shoulder playfully. Ben smiled and returned the gesture before unbuttoning the snaps of his captain's jacket and handing it to Vandala before slipping off the black and green T-shirt he still wore underneath and walked to the bow of the boat to grab the crank that dropped the anchor and began to turn it. Vandala felt her face heat up as she watched Ben's muscles flex and move underneath his skin as he slowly turned the crank of the anchor and set the heavy, metal weight in the sea with a _splash!_

"There we go," he breathed, wiping his brow and cracking his knuckles. "All set."

"Aye. Shall we rejoin the festivities, matey?" Vandala asked, handing him back his shirt and jacket as he slipped them back on.

"If me cap'n commands it." Ben chuckled as he made his way back towards the galley to rejoin the party. "You comin'?" he asked Vandala when he noticed that Vandala wasn't behind him.

"If it's alright, mate, I'd like to stay out here a lil' longer." she replied. "I wanna ask some questions of ye?"

"Alright." Ben shrugged. "Ask way."

"How're you a ghost, mate? And why are you in the Ghost World instead of Monster High?" Vandala asked, knowing that Ben had been apart of her crew for roughly six months; being out at sea limited how easily you could tell time, but by the waxing and weaning of the moon, she could tell the amount of days that had been afloat the briny blue.

Ben sighed and gestured for her to sit down on a crate with him. "I guess I kinda got tired of it all after a while," he sighed. "No matter what I did to counteract evil, it always came back stronger than before. And then . . . _he_ came." he said bitterly. "Vilgax came out of some dimensional rip or other and lay waste to Monster High. I did my best to hold him off until everyone made it out, but he managed to . . . to kill Frankie . . . and brutally injure Headmistress Bloodgood before I could defeat him and sent him back where he came from." Ben rubbed his throbbing temples. "The only person who knows what happened to me and where I am is Twyla; she gave me a bottle of Ghost Sand to turn into a ghost and a bottle of Normie Sand for when I was ready to change back. I then found you, and everything else is history."

"Oh." was all Vandala could say. "I'm . . . I'm sorry to hear that, matey."

"Ah, don't be." Ben sighed, waving it off. "It wasn't your fault."

"So . . . was I just a distraction? Our time together was just so ye could feel better about yerself?" Vandala asked, feeling worse and worse with every passing second.

"No!" Ben protested. "I loved our time together! Your constant cheer is what's kept me going; your spirit, your heart, your sense of adventure have been like rays of sunshine in the hurricane that's become my life. I've never been happier since the incident."

Vandala breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I was worried I lost the Ben I'd fallen for." she chuckled as she scratched the back of her neck.

"What was that?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, uh, well . . ." Vandala fumbled over her words. "Over the past few months, I've kinda fallen for ye, mate. You were kind and adventurous, and you never disobeyed an order, no matter what it was."

"My arms still ache from the time you made me scrap off the barnacles on the hull." Ben joked as Vandala's face turned red. "So you really like me?"

"More than any treasure the seas have to offer." she nodded.

"Good. Then you won't mind if I do this?" he asked. Before Vandala could ask what he meant, Ben had lunged forward faster than she had ever done with her sword during her travels and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her lose and secure as he pressed his lips to her; all the captain of the _Salty Spectre_ could do was simply melt from the contact and return the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and moaning as they moved their lips. As much as she was loving it right now, how her heart was racing, her pulse thumping, and her hormones getting hotter and hotter, she wanted more. She tentatively parted her lips slightly and slithered her tongue forward, slowly tracing them over Ben's lips and startling slightly when Ben allowed her to not only enter but he thrust his own tongue into her mouth, sending a shudder of pleasure through her body. She moaned and battled with Ben's tongue, digging her fingers into his brown locks until she needed to break away for oxygen.

"So . . . does this make us something?" Ben asked as Vandala leaned into his frame and rested her hand against his chest.

"Aye." Vandala sighed happily.

"Awwwwwww!" the skeletons all cooed as they peeked up over the edge of the stairs to spy on their captain and her new boyfriend.

"Back to the galley with ye!" Vandala snapped, her face a deep crimson in color.

"On the double!" Ben barked in agreement.

 **And there we go, mateys!**

 **Vandala is one of my favorite ghouls since her debut, so this was more of a pleasure than it usually is. ARRRRR!**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	6. Kissing your Wounds

_**Sawubona,**_ **and welcome back!**

 **I just want to say that I'm blown away by the amount of reviews and feedback I'm getting on this story. So from the bottom of my undead, Tetramand hearts, I just want to say thank you all who have taken the time to read and review for this story. And thank you everyone who voted on the polls as well!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Lagoona Blue!**

 **I bet a lot of you were waiting for this one, weren't you? Because seriously, for every poll I had, Lagoona was in the top three with the number of votes.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Five minutes to thirteen. Just five more minutes before she allowed out of her office to rest, relax her mind, and simply forget about her cares for a little while as she enjoyed lunch. She decided against joining her fellow staff in the tucked away Creature's Lounge, believing it to be a lovely day to join her students outside for once; it had, after all, been a long time since she had been in touch with her students, and Nightmare could use the fresh air after being cooped up in the office all day, the both of them stuck with signing paperwork.

Normally, she would ride Nightmare off school grounds to the new deli down the street owned by a kindly, old sea nymph that absolutely refused to sell anyone seafood with the exception of kelp and seaweed; this didn't bother Headless Headmistress Bloodgood in the slightest as she wasn't exactly fond of seafood in the first place. Then after she had her lunch, she would ride back to Monster High and often take one of the empty tables in the outdoor seating area. She was often joined by several of her students, usually Abbey, Hoodude, Scarah and Invisibilly, Catrine, or . . . him.

The door to her office door suddenly slammed opened before being slammed shut once more, startling Nightmare as she dove for cover behind Bloodgood's chair; her body paused from signing the current document on the desk to stretch its aching finger as her head cocked an eyebrow at Ben as he slid down the back of the door and to the floor, a frantic look on his face.

"Mr. Tennyson," Bloodgood sounded surprised. "Might I ask what you are doing here? And out of class?" she added suspiciously.

"First, answer me this question," he panted. "What time of year is it?"

Bloodgood blinked. "I'm not quite sure how to answer that . . ." Bloodgood's head told him as her body dug around in a desk drawer and pulled out a calander, flipping through the months before stopping on a page and showing it to her head. "Um, it would seem to be late February."

"That's what I was afraid of." Ben gulped as a rough pounding came from the other side of the door.

"Why is that?" Bloodgood asked as her body grabbed her head and placed it back on her shoulders.

"Remember what happened in October to Lorna?" Ben reminded her. Bloodgood did indeed remember that long day when Lorna McNessie had seemingly lost it for no apparent reason and had gone on a horrific, hormonal induced rampage across the school in search of Gil Webbington during her mating cycle; Ben had been kind enough to keep Lorna at bay and hold her off as Gil made his escapes several times until the day was over and Lorna's parents could come collect and properly restrain her until twenty four hours had passed. By then, Gil was thoroughly frightened of Lorna and looked like he had aged a hundred years or so by the time he had been allowed to rest; he was not present at school for two days.

"Yes, I do remember." Bloodgood winced. "Is it happening again?"

"Something like that," Ben gulped. "It's not Lorna."

"Then who?"

"Lagoona." Ben groaned. "It's Lagoona. And this time, she's after _me_." he shuddered; it wasn't that he wasn't fond of Lagoona in anyway, they were actually very good friends and on the swim team together. But thing about sea monster mating cycles was that they were _far_ more aggressive than their freshwater counterparts and they would stop at nothing until they either mated with the monster of their choice or until the cycle had ended; it also seemed that their cycles lasted longer as well, which would explain the sheer ferocity of Lagoona's attacks after him. They had been far more aggressive than Lorna's, and the way she was howling like a rabid animal was not making Ben anymore comfortable.

"Wait, Ms. Blue is here? She was supposed to be out of school for the rest of the week!" Bloodgood exclaimed, riffling through the papers on her desk until she picked up a small note towards the bottom layer.

"Yeah, well, whatever restraints her parents or whoever put on her clearly weren't strong enough." Ben grumbled under his breath before returning his full attention to Bloodgood. "With all due respect, Headmistress, you need to evacuate the school; if not for my safety, than for the safety of everyone else in the building, because trust me when I say that someone is going to get hurt if they stick around."

"Very well." Bloodgood agreed without hesitation; when it came like situations like these, she trusted Ben's judgement. She reached for the intercom and quickly issued a mandatory mass evacuation drill before she mounted Nightmare, wished Ben the best of luck, and jumped out of an open window that Ben closed seconds later. The door to Bloodgood's office suddenly banged open, heavy, ragged breathing echoing throughout the building as Ben sucked in a breath and turned around to face his adversary. Her long, blonde and blue locks were now shaggy and matted, her crystal green eyes that shone like emeralds were dim and full of insanity. Her blue scales were pale and in some areas, bloody patches showed where the scales had been worn or scratched away. Her jacket and hoodie were missing, exposing the ragged remains of her pink scaled tank top and her black, booty shorts were ripped and shreded in places where blue skin should not have been visible.

"You . . . will be . . . mine." she panted hungrily, licking her lips seductively.

"No, I'm gonna be Humungousaur!" Ben grinned confidentially as he whipped around and slammed a hand down on the activation button. His skin turned a dark green, patches of it turning bright green as it became soft and stretchable. The feeling of bones vanished all together to instead be replaced by some sort of woody structure that acted as a skeleton. His legs began to twitch violently until they each split in two, becoming long tendrils that would let him skitter and stalk amongst the ground. Two fleshy mounds appeared on either side of Ben's head, pulsing and swelling until they became Venus Flytrap-like flaps with pointed teeth at the ends. His arms became long and rubbery, long fingers forming on each end with fleshy thorns appearing on his elbows, knees, shoulders, and chest. His head retained a similar shape as his eyes molded together into one. A row of spikes formed on his head as a green belt with the Omnitrix on it appeared on his waist, completing the transformation.

"Wildvine? Fine." the Florauna sighed as Lagoona gave a loud yell and lunged at him, missing the large plant as he brought all of his tentacles together and drilled through the floor and out of sight; Lagoona snarled and looked around for her missing mate with the stature of a feral dog searching for its prey when Wildvine popped back up out of the floor, shaking wood chips and carpeting off of him. The sea monster screamed and launched herself at him, sailing harmlessly over him as he bent over backwards to avoid her and watch her slam into the wall.

"I hope this school's insurance is paid up." Wildvine gulped when he caught sight of the Lagoona-sized imprint left in the wall as she pried herself lose and chased after him as he left the office behind and ran away through the empty hallways, using his tentacles to climb up the walls and onto the ceilings and over again to avoid Lagoona's jumping grasps. Desperate, the Florauna grabbed several of the tubers from his back and chucked them behind him, wincing when they exploded and filled the hallway with thick, black smoke; he actually feared he had done more damage than intended to Lagoona, but was quickly relieved and slightly frightened when she came charging out of the smokescreen even more savage than before.

"Come back!" she begged.

"Why should I!?" Wildvine screamed back as he jumped down to the floor and skittered around a corner with Lagoona right behind him.

"I want you inside me!" she pleaded.

"Yeah, because that doesn't sound creepy!" Wildvine shot back sarcastically as he bent all four of his tentacles and jumped on top of a row of lockers, hopefully out of Lagoona's reach as the Omnitrix timed out and returned him to his human form. Unfortunately for him, she seemed to have gained some form of super strength and agility during her cycle, allowing her to clear the jump between the floor and lockers easily landed next to him, tackling him to the top of the lockers and wrapping her arms around him tightly, pinning his own arms to his side.

"Hmmm. Even warmer than I imagined." she shivered as she nestled her head into his chest; Ben felt a sense of content in this. He just wished that it could have been under more appropriate circumstances, especially when Lagoona released his hold on him for a few seconds to straddle him and slip her fingers under the edge of her ragged tank top, stripping the remains of it off to expose her light blue breasts pinned behind her firm, black bra. As enticed as Ben was, he did want to go down that road with Lagoona and quickly turned on the Omnitrix and slammed the activation button with glancing at what alien he had selected. Muscles quickly piled themselves onto Ben's arms and chest, short, brown feathers sprouting up from his skin to cover them. His and mouth melted together like butter, hardening into a yellow, horny beak as teeth lined them. The feathers continued to cover his body, racing up over his back and stomach, growing on nearly every inch of his body. Ben's wrists and ankles began to harden as thick scales appeared on them, his fingers molding together into three digits. His fingernails grew longer and bigger, becoming curved and black as they turned into talons. His toes all formed together into two long digits, his heel bone grinding against his foot as a third toe popped out behind them, the toenails growing into long talons. A white plume appeared on Ben's head, looking like a Mohawk of sorts as a pair of large, sharp blades grew out from his elbows. Green wrist and ankle guards materialized on his body, as well as a pair of black briefs and green and white striped belt. A green mask fit over his face as a green strap vest appeared on his body, the Omnitrix appearing on the vest hooker.

"Thanks fer the show, but that ain't how my feathers fly!" Kickin' Hawk cried as he kicked Lagoona off of him and sent her flying a couple yards while he scrambled to his feet and dove off the lockers, huffing and puffing as he jogged his arms to run away; he was mentally cursing himself for not selecting one of his faster aliens, but that became beside the point when he heard Lagoona catching up to him, her breathing ragged and quick before it was caught off by the occasional snarl and hiss.

His breath in his throat, the large, bird-like alien ran around a corner and dove into an empty classroom, slamming the door shut behind him and shoving the creature's desk in front to form a sort of barricade that he hoped would hold against Lagoona's desire; glancing around, he saw that the classroom he was currently hiding in the Home Ick room, abandoned ovens and recipes starring back at him as he hid under the creature's desk to catch his breath. He a sudden bang on the door as Lagoona found him, followed by a the loud creak of the hinges as the door opened; bewildered, Kickin' Hawk looked over his shoulder to see that door opened out into the _hallway_ , and not into classroom, making his barricade ineffective as Lagoona smiled at him seductively.

"Hmmm. The kitchen," she mused as she hopped over the desk and stalked closer to Kickin' Hawk as he took a step back for every step she took. "Not my first choice, but I've always liked the unusual." she licked her lips hungrily; Kickin' Hawk looked around for something, anything that might help him before he grabbed a bowl of cookie dough and threw it at her, hitting her square in the face and wincing slightly when the bowl clattered to the floor. Cookie dough was all over Lagoona's face and hair, dripping her locks every few seconds as she stood there for a few seconds, seemingly stunned before she merely smiled and wiped off a small amount of the dough from her face and licked it, sucking her finger for longer than she should have as she reached behind her and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor as she massaged her cookie dough covered breasts for Kickin' Hawk to stare at.

Despite being mildly turned on, the large bird was not in the mood for such games and grabbed hold of the nearest weapon he could find, a spiked rolling pin, and raised it above his head, fully prepared to club Lagoona over the head if it meant knocking her out for the remainder of the cycle, when Lagoona grabbed hold of a spatula and blocked the blow with a sweet smile on her face.

"En guarde!" she cried playfully as she and Kickin' Hawk traded blow after blow with each other, sometimes managing to get up and under the other;s guard for a split second only to be fended off for the next few minutes as they pushed back and forth through the kitchen, swinging their weapons while they jumped on top of the counters to continue their fight and fending off the other when they jumped back down; as much as Kickin' Hawk hated to admit it, the way Lagoona's breasts were bouncing up and down all over the place as they fought was really distracting, just not distracting enough to avoid a swing of Lagoona's spatula. He gritted his teeth and raised his rolling pin over his head once more, Lagoona raising her spatula up just in time to block the blow before forcing him back and sweeping his legs out from under him with a quick kick of her legs. Kickin' hawk dropped his weapon as he fell onto his back as the Omnitrix timed out and returned him to his human form.

"You got some mad sword skills." Ben groaned as Lagoona tossed away her spatula and cuddled up to him, sitting on his chest and pinning his arms to his sides as she cupped and moved her hands over her breasts in a tantalizing pattern that slowly removed the cookie dough from them as she licked the rest off her face.

"Thanks, mate. But that's not the only skills I have." she grinned seductively as she bent over and set her lips against Ben's neck, lightly kissing the area as she laid one hand over his heart and used the other to keep his head still while she slowly and counter-actively licked the area with her tongue. Her kisses were soft and proactive as she made her way down to his collar bone and back up his neck, softly biting the skin; Ben's resistance to her charms were starting to wear away as she worked, but he knew he had to keep fighting. If not for his sake and sanity, then for Lagoona's life down the road. With a quick jolt of his body, he managed to throw Lagoona off of him and free his arms long enough for him to once again turn on the Omnitrix and slam down on the waiting activation button, swallowing him in a bright, green light. Ben felt his skin began to scrunch up and harden as his bones slowly started to dissolve into nothingness. Four fleshy stalks suddenly burst from both sides of Ben's head, and he was now aware that he could see from 6 different perspectives until a hardened shell covered his original human eyes, and soon enough they lost all function together.A slight itching from the middle of his back produced large, insect like wings that were a dull yellow in color. A second pair of legs suddenly burst out from Ben's gut like some old alien horror film. His spine, what was left of it anyway, went out from his back and swelled at the end, forming a large, and very sharp stinger with poison sacks just above the point. His fingers melted into two sharp claws and a thumb, and his jaw jutted out as a few of teeth disappeared. The final touch was a rotting scent that, while Ben couldn't smell, he figured others would not be so welcome to it.

"Oh, come on!" Stinkfly pouted. "Why is it so hard to get Humungousaur!" he whined as he skittered away on his four, jointed legs and jumped over the creature's desk blocking the doorway and out into the hallway where he buzzed his gossamer wings and took off down the hallway with Lagoona only a couple paces behind him; taking a chance, he twisted two of his four stalks behind him to fire globs of slime from his eyes at Lagoona in the hopes of trapping her as she flew. The sea monster however, seemed to either sense the move or was just really determined as she effortlessly dodged and ducked under the slime thrown her way, twisting and rolling through the air to avoid getting hit. With a grunt, the Lepidopterran turned his focus back towards fleeing and flew up higher to the second floor, having bought him a couple minutes; he then ran into another empty classroom, making sure that the door to this one open into the _classroom_ and not into the hallway like last time.

"How long does this cycle last?" Stinkfly moaned as he pushed the creature's desk in front of the door again and decided to hide towards the back of the classroom this time. He sucked in deep breaths, agonizing seconds that felt like hours instead as he heard Lagoona making her way along the hallway, tearing locker doors from the wall to look inside the lockers before moving onto the classrooms, muscling the doors open with all her strength and turning them upside in her search for him. Maybe it would be easier to simply surrender and let her do what she wanted to him?

Stinkfly shook his head of such thoughts; he knew in the long run that neither party would be happy in the long run. Besides, he wasn't sure he wanted to meet the wrath of Lagoona's parents if he got her pregnant during her mad bout of insanity. The door to the classroom he was currently hiding in gave a shudder as Lagoona through her body against, busting the lock and moving the desk about half an inch. The door was moved again, this time with more strength as the desk was shoved a good, two inches; Stinkfly gulped when Lagoona threw herself against the window in the door, her face pressed against the glass into an eerie smile that unsettled Stinkfly greatly. It was a sweet looking grin that promised both happiness, pleasure, and incredible amounts of pain if he chose not to run away, unnerving the Lepidopterran even further when Lagoona drew back her head and rammed it into the glass window, shattering it on contact and sending broken shards in all directions. Lagoona climbed in through the small hole she had made, not even noticing the cuts that arched across her skin when the remains of the pane touched her skin or when her shorts caught on the shards and were torn from her body, leaving only her black panties in place as she slowly made her way towards the back of the classroom, cornering Stinkfly.

"C-can't we talk this out?" he asked shakily as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world.

"Sure, babe," Lagoona purred as she swayed her hips back and forth in a seductive manner. "We talk all night if you want." she smiled as she came up to Ben and slowly slithered her arms around him, hugging him tightly and enjoying his body warmth for a few seconds before she tilted her head upwards and softly kissed Ben's cheek before she just barely brushed them against his own, digging her fingers into thick, brown locks as she moaned and pressed her body closer to his, her breasts squishing against his chest. Ben tried to resist, he really did, but he could do little else but hold still and hope that whatever Lagoona was going to do was short and quick. Lagoona squeezed him tighter and slowly, carefully traced his lips with her tongue before jamming it forcefully into his mouth, quickly subduing Ben's tongue and jabbing it into all the right places; Ben felt like his skin was on fire as he felt a slight bulge in his pants, something that Lagoona seemed to feel too as she ever so slowly parted the kiss with a long trail of saliva between the two of them and grabbed the edges of her panties, slowly slipping them off and casting them aside before pressing her lips back to Ben's as she suddenly grabbed his nether regions in her hand, giving them a firm squeeze.

That was the last straw for Ben.

With a sudden surge of strength, he threw the now naked Lagoona off of him and into several desks as he turned on the Omnitrix and slammed a hand down on the waiting activation button, engulfing himself in a flash of bright, green light as he felt his genetic code warp and twist into something new that the world had never seen before. Alien blood flowed through his veins as muscles piled themselves on him, everywhere to his arms and chest to his neck and legs, every part of him was getting bigger and stronger with each passing millisecond. His skin hardened into plate like armor that turned brown as large scales traveled up his legs and chest. His legs became thick and pillar like as his feet began to match those of an elephant. A thick tail sprouted from the base of his spine as he was forced to hunch over slightly. His neck became a little longer retaliative to his 20 foot frame and his lower jutted out his fingers swelled with power. A pair of black briefs and a green sash appeared on him, completing the transformation as the Omnitrix symbol appeared on the sash.

"Humungousaur!" the Vaxasaurian cried out triumphantly. "For real? Yeah!" he cheered as he swung a cinder block fist and knocked several more desks aside, trapping Lagoona further as he ran right towards the wall before crashing right through, sending plaster and wood splinters in all directions as he launched himself over the side of second floor railing and back down to the first floor before turning around and running away as fast as he could; a loud scream of pure rage, lust, and insanity echoed through the empty school, jamming almost painfully into his ear holes and being thrust deep into the darkest regions of his mind, forever stuck to be replayed in his nightmares for as long as he lived.

He could hear Lagoona as she finally managed to untangle herself from the mess of desks and rush out into the hallway, screaming at the top of her lungs as she threw herself over the railing and landed on the second floor, screaming even louder as she raced after him, stumbling between running on all fours like a feral beast and running on two like a madman with a chainsaw; the Vaxasaurian thought neither description was very accurate of Lagoona's state of mind right now as he skidded around a corner and surged forward. Lagoona was close behind, breathing heavily and screaming loudly again as she chased after him and took advantage of his slow speed, quickly gaining ground until she was able to launch herself at him and sling to his shoulder.

"Agh! Get off of me! Get off of me!" Humungousaur bellowed as he slapped at his back and shoulders.

"Beeeeeen! Stop ruuuuuning!" Lagoona pleaded as she hung on, whimpering and moaning whenever one of Humungousaur's wild hits smacked her ass.

"No way, ghoul! You are really starting to creep me out!" Humungousaur yelled back as he succeeded in grabbing Lagoona by the head and managed to pull her off, holding her by the shoulders as he came to a stop, huffing and snorting to catch his breath as a deep blush came to his face when Lagoona licked her lips hungrily and spread her legs apart, as if expecting something.

"Uh, uh. No way, ghoul!" the Vaxasaurian snorted as he lumbered over to a janitor's closet and threw Lagoona inside before grabbing a mop and slamming the door shut as he slipped the mop into the handle of the closet; with it firmly jammed shut, he turned around and jogged away, knowing it wouldn't last long from the way Lagoona was screaming bloody murder and pounding on the door.

He hoped to Sphinx that he was going to survive this.

* * *

Lagoona screamed louder than she had ever screamed in her entire life, ramming her shoulder into the blocked door until it was swollen and heavily bruised; she collapsed to the floor, heaving her breath in and out through her mouth and gills as she rested, determined to get through the door and to her mate. Why was he running away from her? Did he find her unattractive and unappealing? She glanced down at her body and cupped her breasts as she looked over herself, wincing at the patches of missing scales and the bloody scratches and bruises that lined her body; perhaps she was going to far? Before she could even form a single though, her mind became foggy once more, a hurricane of instincts and desires that had to be filled, even at the cost of her life.

With renewed vigor, Lagoona climbed to her feet and rammed her good shoulder into the door, hitting even harder than before when she heard a loud _crack!_ Another couple more movements, and the mop holding the door shut had been broken in two, with the door itself being banged open with another shove of her shoulder; she screamed a loud battle cry that would have curdled most Monster's blood as she took off down the hall in a frenzy, sniffing the air furiously as she followed the alluring scent of her mate through the maze of hallways and lockers. The only thing on her mind was to mate with her chosen one, to make him hers for as long as they lived and raise a family together; in her mind, he was the most compatible, the most appealing, the most perfect of all the available mates out there. His scent alone made her go mad with need as she ran around a corner and got closer and closer to her missing mate.

She finally came to a pair of cold, metal doors that stood between her and her mate. With a snarl, she jumped at the doors, fully expecting them to be blown inward, only to bounce right off of them and slump to the floor, irritated. How was it that he had managed to secure himself so well? This only made her want him more, if not for his perfect body and behavior, than for his impressive mind; he really was the perfect specimen to be her mate. The thought made her tingle all over as she rammed herself into the doors again, succeeding in forcing them to bend inwards just enough for her to see beyond; her mate was standing towards the back of the room, a thick, metal beam from the ceiling in his hand as he waited for her, a grim look on his face. She also managed to see that the thing that was preventing her from getting to him was a metal rod twisted between the two handles to hold the doors shut.

She was so close to the one she longed to be with, the one she longed to feel his warm body pressed to her cold blooded scales and fill her with such warmth it felt like she was back in her home waters again. She was so freaking close to him, and yet he managed to outsmart and lie just out of her reach. Well, she wasn't about to stand for that; she would beat her shoulders to bloodied pulps if it got her through those doors and to her mate. She let out a primal scream and threw her entire body weight against the doors, succeeding in pushing them inwards farther than before. Again, she threw herself at the doors, inching them open wider at the cost of her left shoulder. Her body was screaming in agony as she charged at the doors again, this time with her right shoulder and was nearly inside as Humungousaur tightened his grip on the metal beam; one more throw of her body, and the doors were banged open.

Her breathing was short and ragged as she stood there in the nude, hot warmth washing over body in an almost uncomfortable blanket as a cloud of steam escaped the room. Her arms were cut from her escapade through the glass and her shoulders were a pulsing red and bruised from using them to open closed doors so often. Her legs and stomach suffered more cuts from the glass and her breasts and face were beaten a deep purple in certain spots from accidental lunges and crashes that went off course. Her hair was shaggy and greasy from sweat, some of it matted and stained red from a cut on her head as she starred at her mate with a combination of eternal lust and simultaneous hatred.

"You . . . will be . . . _MINE!_ " she screamed at the top of her lungs as she took a charging leap at him and launched herself clear across the pool, easily clearing it as she bared her teeth and fingers like claws as she prepared to pounce on him like a hungry wildcat on its prey and ravage him. Just as she was about to get him, the Vaxasaurian hefted the metal beam onto his shoulder and swung it as hard as he could like a baseball bat, connecting it to her body with a sickening _thwack!_ and sending her flying back across the room where she crashed into the ceiling and fell to the ground.

How could he do this to her, deny her the one and only thing she desired? She felt herself roll over as Humungousaur moved her body with a hand, his mouth moving to form words she could not hear; a flash of green light suddenly swallowed him whole, changing him back into Ben. A slight and weak smile crossed her beaten face as her vision started to fade, her skull pounding loudly in her head as she went limp and her eyes drooped shut, the last thing that graced her vision being the concerned look of Ben.

* * *

Her head was aching like Hades.

With a groan, she blearily blinked open her eyes and found that her vision was swimming, the images distorted and melted together like a child's watercolor painting gone wrong; it probably had to do something with the killer headache she was suffering from. She felt around with her hand, attempting to figure out where she was as she slowly rolled over onto her stomach, wincing slightly as a sudden, unbearable amount of pain shot through her body; her vision was finally starting to come back to her, and her eyes widened upon finding the now clotted cuts and bruises that covered her arms and shoulders. She found she could open her left eye all the way and when she pushed a lock of hair out of her face, her hand came back stained red for a wound on her head that was starting to finally scar. She looked down at herself to find herself in one of the spare swimsuits she left in ghoul's locker room and a pile of her underwear and shreded clothes next to her; sitting some distance away with a stern on her was Ben.

"What . . . what happened?" she winced as she attempted to climb to her feet, her shoulders killing her; they felt like they were on fire.

"You mean other than trying to get in my pants?" Ben raised a sarcastic eyebrow.

"What do you . . ." Lagoona started before it all came rushing back to her; the way she chased after Ben like a starving predator, how she toyed with him and shamelessly attempted to stain his pure body with her insolence and inability to restrain herself. She now remembered why her body was so sore, the way she had so foolishly used it like a battering ram to chase after Ben to the point where she resembled an insane, bloody corpse. Lagoona was filled her horror as she looked between her bruised hands and Ben, dropping back down to the floor and curling up into a tight ball as she started to sob, utterly ashamed at what she had done; she was weak, pathetic even. Most sea monsters were either able to restrain themselves through the cycle or were smart enough to ask other Monsters for help with the restraints, but she had been unable to follow either option. She doubted Ben would ever look at her the same way now, or even ever again. He was probably disgusted with her right now.

It then surprised her a little when Lagoona felt herself being moved by a pair of strong hands, and she unfolded herself long enough to see Ben's face starring back at her as he held her in his arms. Lagoona wanted to push away from him; she didn't deserve his kindness or pity, not after what she had attempted to do to him, but his grip was strong and firm. And soon enough she found herself hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder, apologizing profusedly as he comforted her and rubbed her back soothingly.

"You gonna be okay?" Ben asked after a few more minutes of this.

"Y-yeah." Lagoona sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I-I think so."

"Good. I should probably get you to a hospital or something to get those looked at." he added, pointing to one of the larger scars on her thigh.

"Why're you being so nice to me, mate?" Lagoona asked with watery eyes.

"Because your my friend," Ben replied. "Just because you tried to rape me doesn't mean I still don't like to see you every day; you weren't in control o yourself, so it's okay." he reassured her before continuing on when he saw slight doubt in Lagoona's eyes. "I could never stay made at someone so kind, thoughtless, sweet, and as care giving as you. Everyone likes you and everyone would miss you if you went away. Everything about you is beautiful, from your gorgeous eyes and long, golden locks to shimmering blue scales; even those little freckles are cute." Ben joked, a slight blush crossing Lagoona's face.

"Crikey, it sounds like ya have a crush on me, mate." she laughed.

"Maybe I do." Ben taunted her with a knowing smile. "Either way, we should get you to that hospital I mentioned before. Don't want those to get infected." he chuckled, brushing a hand past her bruised shoulder and causing her to shudder uncontrollably. "That hurt?"

"Y-yes." she shivered.

"Want me to kiss them better?" Ben teased.

Before Lagoona could respond, Ben carefully pressed his lips to a large bruise on her shoulder and softly kissed, freezing Lagoona in her tracks as her eyes drooped shut and she sucked in a sharp breath; she didn't say anything as Ben slowly and tenderly kissed her wounds, never recoiling in the taste of her blood as he made his way up her neck and across to her other shoulder, carefully touching the tip of his tongue to the wound before kissing. A low moan escaped Lagoona's lips as Ben kissed her neck and throat, gently cupping her face in his hands as he kissed her cheeks and ended with a final kiss to her forehead.

"Better?" he asked with a smile.

"I-I . . . I think so." Lagoona breathed; her entire body tingled with soft pleasure.

"Wait, I think I missed one." Ben sounded serious.

"Where?" Lagoona wondered, patting around her face and neck as she searched for the injury.

"Here." Ben replied, cupping Lagoona's face gently in his hands and tenderly pressed his lips to hers, holding it there for a second that seemed to last an eternity. Lagoona was frozen to the spot, unable to figure out how to properly responded before she wrapped her arms around Ben's neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss as Ben began to move his lips, Lagoona matching his steady rhythm. She was getting that feeling again, that warm feeling that slowly ebbed its way through her body whenever she came into contact with Ben. He was like a furnace compared to her cold blooded body and this made her feel . . . she had no way to describe it anymore other than to that the feeling was wonderful. Just as soon as it started, they parted away from the other, Lagoona lovingly resting her head against Ben's chest.

"You're warm." she murmured sleepily.

"I can make you warmer if I take you to the hospital." Ben cracked, making a move to climb to his feet; Lagoona didn't let him, weighing him down by refusing to release her hold on him.

"Carry me." she mumbled, nuzzling her head deeper into his chest like a pillow. With little other choice in the matter, Ben grabbed the remains of Lagoona's clothes and set them on her stomach as he wrapped his arms underneath her back and lower legs, hefting her off of the floor and taking a few seconds to stabilize himself before making his way towards the door.

"I love you." Lagoona mumbled into his chest, her eyes closed and her breaths deep and slow.

"Love you, my Blue Lagoon." Ben smiled.

* * *

Cupid set the crystal ball back down on the covers of her bed, feeling somewhat emotionally exhausted and slightly disturbed by what she had seen. While she knew that certain species of Monsters went through similar courtship rituals, it frightened her how aggressive their apparent feelings for each other; the very thought of having to deal with such a thing herself . . . she didn't want to think about it.

A sound came to the young deity's ears, the sound of a warm voice humming a cheery tune outside the door; it could only be that of Blonde Locks. Cupid wasn't sure why she did it, but she took one look at the crystal ball sitting on her bed sheets and immediately decided that no one else could know about it. She had to hide it away before Blonde came back to the dorm and saw it; no doubt, she would feel the need to report it, and then her precious treasure would be known to every fairy tale in kingdom! The girls and princesses would never leave her alone, wanting to see more of this Ben that seemed to effortlessly charm the woman. The boys and princes would flock to her, wanting to see the bizarre aliens and Monsters from her old home. Or worse, the Headmaster would confiscate it from her, on the grounds that it might cause more fairy tales to disregard their stories as nonsense; it was no secret that the Headmaster didn't approve of Raven's decision.

With a quick movement, Cupid grabbed the crystal ball and lay on her stomach to bend down over the side of the bed and shove the crystal ball into the darkness beneath her bed, tucked away next to her dust collecting bow and arrows; hopefully she would never lose use of the crystal ball she had with the love-inducing weapon. Cupid quickly sat back up on her bed and pretended as if she had just woken up from a nap as Blonde Locks opened the door to the dorm, still humming the cheery tune.

"Hi, Cupid! Anything just not right happen while I was out?" the Daughter of Goldie Locks asked her roommate.

"No," Cupid faked a yawn. "Everything's, as you say, just right."

 **And there we go!**

 **I have to say, this was one of my favorite chapters to write. A lot of people thought that Lagoona going nuts in my first story was hilarious, so I decided to use it again in this one. And just to clarify, Gil and Lagoona never broke up in the universe that this chapter takes place in, because they actually never met; Gil ended up being Lorna's boyfriend, and Lagoona and Ben obvious became a couple after the incident of this little story.**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	7. Tennyson of the Oprea

_**Aloha,**_ **man-sters and ghouls!**

 **Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback that I have been getting for all of my works, _Cupid's Crystal Ball_ and _We're All Monsters_ especially. I couldn't have done it without you guys, because I really like this was something of a community work or something like that, with every pitching in their two-bits and ideas to make the story even better than before.**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . the Phantom of the Opry herself, Operetta!**

 **Let's kick up a notch, Daddy O'!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

"Pssst."

Ben looked up from his locker, confused as to what had caught his attention. Looking around, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary; Gil and Lagoona were sharing a kiss before class, Cleo was chatting up a storm as Ghoulia feverishly took notes on her laptop for later, Venus was watering the small jungle she had groan in her locker and scratching a small snapdragon under its chin before it snapped up an unfortunate fly. With a shrug, Ben returned to cleaning out his locker of the unnecessary papers from last semester that had coated the bottom of his private sanctuary in school.

" _Pssst!_ "

The sound came again, only much more intense this time. Ben looked around for the source of the sound again; Frankie had accidentally electrocuted Holt when he told her a funny joke, Abbey was attempting to ignore Heath's flirting with her even though she actually enjoying it, and Spectra was to Kiyomi Haunterly, but nobody seemed to be responsible for the noise her heard. A sudden bang caught his attention, drawing it down towards the vent near his floor and locker; closing the door to his locker he bent down to sit by the vent.

"Ben? Are you there?" a slightly nervous sounding voice from the other side of the grate.

"What's up, Jane?" Ben asked as he made himself comfortable on the floor.

"Y-you might want to go check on Operetta," Jane replied, a slightly scuffling noise from the ducts as Jane re-positioned herself. "I've been hearing a lot of strange noises coming from her private theater in the catacombs. That, and Memphis says she needs help." she said; a slight hissing sound from the vent, followed by the soft pitter-patter of half a dozen legs or so. "She hasn't left the catacombs in two days." she added.

"And am I the one that has to go ask her what her problems are?" Ben asked. "I mean, I'll do it, but why me?"

"Because Operetta's singing," Jane replied. "Due to being the Daughter of the Phantom of the Opera, her vocalizations are quite deadly to other Monster's ears; only Memphis is able to hear her sing live. I believe you might have a transformation that can withstand high volumes of sound."

"You mean Echo Echo?"

"Yes, your Sonorosian form should suffice," Jane replied from the other side of the vent as something slipped out through the slots and into the hallway. "Memphis will show you the fastest way to Operetta's concert hall. Good luck." Jane said before she vanished. Ben looked down into his hand and felt himself startle slightly before relaxing; spiders didn't really bother him, but anyone would feel rather uncomfortable if they had a spider wearing a suit and tie, pair of blue glasses, four pairs of shoes, and had a black pompadour for hair in their hand.

"So you're Memphis?" Ben asked.

The spider in his hand nodded and a series of rapid gestures with his four hands, all pointing down the hallway; Ben got the message that he was telling him where to go and got up from the floor with semi-stiff legs before walking down the hallway, ignoring the quick looks he got from Monsters when they saw a spider sporting a pompadour in his hand. Ben was led to and through a large door at the bottom of a short flight of steps; the air beyond the door was frighteningly chilly and amp with moisture.

The walls of the catacombs were drapped with moss and mold, forgotten cobwebs taking up the corners as something skittered across the floor in front of them. Ben had been down in the catacombs a couple of times, most notably when Jane asked him to meet her in a certain part of the labyrinth of halls and walkways to discuss something she needed help with; Ben found it slightly strange that Jane trusted him so much and really no one else in Monster High, but he figured that having the ability to change one's shape into something that resembled a creature she was familiar with was what kept her calm around him.

He walked down long hallways that opened up in long, arching bridges over seemingly bottomless pits that were obscured by oceans of mist and fog with clouds of bats swarming over his head to feast on the catacombs's insect supply. Glowing mushrooms and moss took up the corners on the floor, providing light where the skulls with torches embedded in their jaws did not. It got considerably warmer as they went deeper and deeper into the catacombs, twisting down the hallways and corridors or pushing through curtains of cobwebs and vines that draped over the open pathways.

After what seemed hours of walking through the labyrinth beneath the school, they finally came to the mouth of an opening that carved teeth over it like that of a hungry beast; old, ratty curtains that looked like they had been there for years closed the archway off from the rest of the catacombs, a slight sound coming from the other side.

"Thanks." Ben nodded as he set Memphis back down on the ground and cycled through the roster of the Omnitrix before selecting the Sonorosian icon and pressing the activation button, swallowing himself in a bright, green light. His skin changed into a smooth, chrome white that became tougher than his original exterior as his skeleton crunched and compressed into something smaller until he barely reached about knee high for most Monsters. His face was stretched as his mouth widened and his eyes followed, moving farther and farther apart as his bones became softer and more bendable; his lungs began to blow up like balloons until they were the largest organs in his body. His ears melted back into his head to become gaping holes in his skull before they were covered by a hardened shell that wrapped around his head in a way that resembled headphones; the Omnitrix appeared on his forehead completing the transformation.

"Alright, lets see what we've got here." the Sonorosian muttered to himself as he pushed aside the curtains. The small archway opened into a massive and expansive opera house with hundreds upon hundreds of seats lying in neat rows on the floor and carefully stacking themselves upwards into the few balconies that dotted the walls, cobwebs acting like unwalkable pathways between them as the tentacle monster inspired stage yawned over everything. The cavern was vastly empty, and any noise made inside of it echoed for minutes on end before finally dissipating into nothingness. Echo Echo cautiously shuffled forward down one of the few walkways that separated the rows of seats, looking and searching for any sign of Operetta; other than the impressive organ that in one of the larger balconies near the stage, there was no sign of her anywhere.

" _Well, since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell!_ " a mournful voice sang melodiously out over the empty opera house; Echo Echo looked for any sign of where the lyrics followed by a quick strumming of a guitar were when he finally managed to set his sights on one of the higher balconies near the stage where he just managed to see a pair of pale, violet legs drapped over the side.

" _It's down at the end of lonely street at the Heartbreak Hotel._ " the voice continued, oblivious to the Sonorosian as he ran down the isle and towards the stage where he climbed on and ran to the very edge of it where the balcony just barely peeked over it; he was about to multiply himself several dozen times to reach that height, but thought better of it for the moment and decided to just listen.

" _You make me so lonely, baby._ "

" _I get so lonely, I get so lonely I could live._ "

" _And although it's always crowded, you still can find some room._ "

" _Where broken hearted lovers do cry away their gloom._ "

" _You make me so lonely, baby._ "

" _I get so lonely, I get so lonely I could live._ "

" _Well, the bellhop's tears keep flowin', and the desk clerk's dressed in black._ "

" _Well they been so long on lonely street they ain't ever gonna look back!_ "

" _You make me so lonely, baby._ "

" _I get so lonely, I get so lonely I could live._ "

The Sonorosian didn't quite know what the words meant entirely, but from the way the voice so depressed and how it's mournful tune was interrupted by some sniffling every few lyrics, Echo Echo wagered that the owner of the voice was going through some bout of serious sadness. And from the definite feminine tone to it, it could be nobody else but Operetta; he had heard her melodic voice over several recordings his friends had lent to him, and he had to admit that her songs were incredibly good. She could have been a rock star if she wanted to, but her cursed voice prevented her from ever giving live concerts, always left to only entertain herself and her pet spider.

" _Well now, if your baby leave you, and get a tale to tell._ "

" _Just take a walk down lonely street to Heartbreak Hotel._ "

" _You make me so lonely, baby._ "

" _I get so lonely, I get so lonely I could live._ "

" _And although it's always crowded, you still can find some room._ "

" _Where broken hearted lovers do cry away their gloom._ "

" _You make me so lonely, baby._ "

" _I get so lonely, I get so lonely I could live!_ "

The song ended with a long, lonely note from that of a guitar before something clattered to the floor of the balcony and a pale, purple arm draped over the edge; some quiet sniffling started to pour out from the mezzanine; the Sonorosian decided enough was enough and stood up and started to duplicate himself upwards, each clone holding onto the other clone's feet as they stacked themselves taller and taller until they managed to grab the lip of the balcony; the top clone kept a firm grip on the lip of the balcony as all the clones were quickly molded back together into a single Sonorosian that climbed over the lip of the balcony and landed on his rear end.

"Who goes there?" Operetta sniffed angrily; she had light, purple skin and bright red and black hair done up in tight Victory Rolls that framed her heart-shaped face; a silvery, heart-shaped music note inspired mask took up the left side of her face, enclosing her blue-grey eye. On her left arm and neck was a music staff tattoo with a series of music notes dotting the scale when they weren't hidden under her white top with puffy shoulders and keyboard sleeves. She wore a silver belt with chains on her right hip around her waist and a pair of short jeans over a pair of white stockings that tipped at a pair of pumps with white spiderweb designs and treble clef heels; a contradicting colored pair of die acted as earrings with a keyboard pattern bracelet around her right wrist. "Whadda y'all want?"

"Jane sent me." Echo Echo replied.

"Who?" Operetta wondered.

"Not important right now," the Sonorosian shook his head. "You have a nice voice."

"Y-you mean y'all heard me singin'?" Operetta sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"Yep." Echo Echo nodded. "You're really good singer."

"Yeah, well, Johnny didn't think so." Operetta sighed unhappily, deflating slightly. "Who're you anyway?"

"Give it a minute." the Sonorosian raised a finger before he was suddenly engulfed in a flash of bright, green light and returned to his original form as the Omnitrix timed out. "There we go."

"Oh, yeah, yer that alien kid everybody's been talkin' about." Operetta realized. "All bat, no vampire, if you ask me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ben narrowed his eyes with suspicion.

"How do I know y'all are who ya say ya are?" Operetta asked. "How do I know all those thing y'all did are true?"

"What, you want me to stop a runaway train with my bare hands again!?" yelled with disbelief.

"Nah, I just likes ta ruffle Monster's feathers, whether they actually have feathers or not." Operetta laughed slightly before deflating once more. "Johnny and I use to laugh like that." she sighed unhappily.

"Who's this Johnny guy you keep talking about?" Ben asked, sitting down next to her as Memphis came skittering up the side balcony and sat on Operetta's shoulder; the arachnid pulled out a bass just small enough him to use and started to play a soft, mournful tune that seemed to set the mood fairly well.

"Johnny Spirit. He was the ghost I fell for the hardest in all by undead life," Operetta explained. "If I was the fried peanut butter, he was the banana in our friend peanut butter banana sandwich, thankyouverymuch. We'd often spend hours upon hours down in here in my concert hall just jamming away as the hours ticked by, with him on his violin and me on my guitar or organ. And when we weren't playing, we was just enjoying each other's company under the stars."

"So what happened?" Ben asked. "It sounds like you two had something special."

"That's what I thought too," Operetta sniffed. "I always knew that Johnny was a flirt, always catchin' the eye of every ghoul out there; occasionally, he'd flirt back, but I always knew he never meant it. He always came right back ta me, like a dog whose name ya just hollered. Then, one day . . . I never saw 'im again." she sniffed, her eyes starting to water and swell with tears. "I was worried sick 'bout where he'd gone, but then again he always disappeared for a couple a days before comin' right back to me with that sweet smile o' his. It wasn't until he'd been missin' fer a couple a weeks did I actually hear from 'im."

"That's good." Ben remarked, trying to sound chipper.

"He'd run off with some other ghoul!" Operetta wailed, curling up on herself and sobbing into her knees as Memphis struck a sour note on his bass.

"That's bad." Ben winced.

"He left me for some ghoul with a bigger chest, sweeter ass, and more curves than a snake caught in wildfire! And I'll bet my music could whoop any sorry, little-ass ditty she could come up with any day, too! And to add insult to injury, they went ta Memphis of all places!" Operetta ranted before sobbing again; Memphis himself, had accidentally broken a string on his bass and attempted to fix it with some of his silk before giving up and smashing the tiny instrument to pieces like a rock star after a performance.

Ben didn't rally know exactly what to do right then and there, but he decided to do something at the very least and set a sympathetic hand on Operetta's shoulder, just simply being there as she wept. Before he knew it, the Phantom of the Opry had pulled him into a deep hug, squeezing him like a frightened child might hug their stuffed skeleton to provide comfort; despite his face turning a light shade of red, Ben didn't struggle against Operetta's surprisingly strong grip, though he did wonder why she was even seeking comfort in him of all people when she hardly even knew him.

"If all he did was use you for his own desires, then he never deserved you in the first place." Ben spoke up after a few minutes of comforting the distraught phantom. "You deserve someone special, someone who enjoys your music and you simply because they like you; they should like you not because you're beautiful, but because you refuse to let other people tell you what to do, refuse to be weighed down by such trivial matters as feelings, and absolutely refuse have anyone ruining your fun."

Operetta sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Y-You're right. I shouldn't something as pitiful as that ass bring me down."

"Exactly." Ben nodded. "Your a strong ghoul, and strong ghouls don't cry over boys."

"Don't push your luck, hon', or I will play ya faster than a fiddle." Operetta narrowed her eyes at him, making him flinch slightly before she burst out into laughter. "That never gets old!"

"Glad I could help." Ben nodded. "Mind playing me something? I'd love to hear more of your music."

"Uh, you sure? My voice kinda has this . . . effect on Monster's when it ain't heard on a recording of somethin'."

"That's easy to fix." Ben waved it off before he turned to the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster and selecting the Sonorosian icon once more before slapping the activation button and swallowing himself in a flash of green light. His skin changed into a smooth, chrome white that became tougher than his original exterior as his skeleton crunched and compressed into something smaller until he barely reached about knee high for most Monsters. His face was stretched as his mouth widened and his eyes followed, moving farther and farther apart as his bones became softer and more bendable; his lungs began to blow up like balloons until they were the largest organs in his body. His ears melted back into his head to become gaping holes in his skull before they were covered by a hardened shell that wrapped around his head in a way that resembled headphones; the Omnitrix appeared on his forehead completing the transformation.

"Play away, baby!" Echo Echo exclaimed; it was intended to be a joke, but a blush crossing Operetta's face.

"Gladly, sugar." she smiled as she took her guitar up again and started to sing as Memphis "Daddy O'" Longlegs found a small drum set perfectly crafted for his size and belong to play along with his owner.

" _The warden threw a party in the county jail, the prison band was there and they began to wail._ "

" _The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing, you should've heard them knocked out jailbirds sing!_ "

" _Let's rock, everybody, let's rock!_ "

 _Everybody in the whole cell block. was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ "

" _Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone, Little Joe was blowin' on the slide trombone._ "

" _The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang!_ "

" _The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang!_ "

" _Let's rock, everybody, let's rock!_ "

" _Everybody in the whole cell block. was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ "

" _Number forty-seven said to number three, You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see_!"

" _I sure would be delighted with your company come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me!_ "

" _Let's rock, everybody, let's rock!_ "

" _Everybody in the whole cell block. was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ "

" _Sad sack was sittin' on a block of stone, way over in the corner weepin' all alone._ "

" _The warden said, hey, buddy, don't you be no square, if you can't find a partner use a wooden chair!_ "

" _Let's rock, everybody, let's rock!_ "

" _Everybody in the whole cell block. was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ "

" _Shifty Henry said to Bugs, for heaven's sake no one's lookin', now's our chance to make a break_."

" _Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, nix nix, I want to stick around a while and get my kicks!_ "

" _Let's rock, everybody, let's rock!_ "

" _Everybody in the whole cell block. was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ "

" _Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ "

" _Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ "

" _Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ "

" _Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!_ " Operetta finished off with an extravagant motion of her arm as Memphis ended with a short drum solo; Echo Echo got up from his seat and clapped loudly before splitting himself into half a dozen clones to help him in the act, creating a thunderous applause as Operetta blushed slightly while she bowed.

"Thank you, thank y'all!" she bowed with a smile; the Sonorosians clapped even harder and cheered even louder, drowning out Memphis's attempts to clap before he simply decided to join his owner in the glory; he had, after all, played the drum line.

"Do y'all play any music?" Operetta asked once the applause had died down enough.

"Well, I use to . . ." an Echo Echo clone started.

"But then I kinda went global . . ." another continued.

"And then I didn't have time for it anymore." a third finished. "I used to play the guitar a little."

"I could teach y'all if you like." Operetta offered.

"I'd like that." Echo Echo smiled before a green light swallowed all of the duplicates and brought Ben back to the world as the Omnitrix timed out. "You really like Elvis, don't you?"

"He's one o' my idols." Operetta smiled sheepishly. "His music is just so . . . free! It makes y'all feel like ya could do almost ol' thing with it's upbeat music and flowing melody; kinda like you, I suppose."

"Well, thank you. Thank you very much." Ben cracked, doing an incredibly bad impression of The King himself; Operetta giggled slightly before she burst out into laughter as Ben attempted to slick back his hair into a pompadour, much to the annoyance of Memphis himself.

"I take it you're feeling better?" Ben guessed after Operetta had stopped laughing.

"Almost," Operetta smirked. "Y'all been such a wonderful help, but I think there's just one, little ol' thing you could probably help me out with."

"You want me to move your organ down to a proper level where it won't fall?" Ben joked before he caught sight of the mischievous smirk on the phantom's lips; he really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut at some point. Operetta's smirk turned into a full blown smile as she sauntered over to him and tiptoed her fingers along Ben's chest and up his neck until they under his chin and holding it up so Ben had to roll his eyes downwards just to look at her. He was helpless to do anything as Operetta leaned upwards and kissed on the chin, holding it there for a few seconds before she wrapped her hands around his head to press her lips to him in a slow, seductive manner that made Ben's face burn red as the phantom slowly and proactively moved her lips, shivering and moaning with pleasure when Ben wrapped his arms around her thin waist and slid his hands up and down her sides and backs, massaging her skin in a way that her melt like chocolate in his grasp before she decided to go a step further and thrust her tongue past his lips, sliding it over his tongue and hugging Ben tighter as he fought back.

The kiss would have gone on for another hour or so had the need for air not forced them apart with an almost disappointed pout on Operetta's face; a blood red lip print was left on Ben's cheek from the phantom's lipstick. "Want me ta give you those guitar lessons now?"

Ben shook his head. "Nah. I just want to enjoy the moment a little longer; maybe send Johnny a message about how you don't need him anymore while we're at it." he added with a devious grin on his face.

"I like the way you think, handsome." Operetta grinned before she tackled him into a rough kiss than before; Memphis could do nothing else but watch and simply play a romantic tune on a spare bass he had to set the mood for his owner and her new lover.

 **And there we go!**

 **As a side note, the songs featured were _Heartbreak Hotel_ and _Jailhouse Rock,_ both written and sung by The King of Rock 'n Roll himself. Likewise, I own neither song, I would be The King and not Elvis Preseley. The only thing I did was change a few of the lyrics here and there, but that's it! DON'T SUE ME!**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	8. Beating Hearts

_**Nín hǎo,**_ **man-sters and ghouls! I have returned, though I doubt you thought I ever left.**

 **I'm glad that everyone's enjoying the different one-shots of their favorite ghouls with everyone's favorite, Omnitrix-wearing hero. Seriously, you would not _believe_ the almost instantaneous feedback I got for the previous posted chapter; in response to that, I have posted this chapter! I'm here to announce that the first chapter of the greatly anticipated sequel to _We're All Monsters_ will be posted on the last day of July, so keep yer peepers open! It'll be there, trust me!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . the Copper Beauty herself, Robecca Steam!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Cupid tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep; it wasn't because her wings were making her uncomfortable at all, nor was it because she was too hot or too cold. She just felt too jittery, like she had drunk too much coffee. Being the Daughter of Eros, watching people fall in love was like getting addicted to the worst drug known to fairy tale, and she was absolutely hooked on watching the crystal ball given to her by the Time Walker. Without another thought, she bent over the edge of her bed and pulled the crystal ball out from under her bed, bringing it up onto her covers.

She debated whether or not to rub the smooth orb with her room mate but a few feet away from her; would she be awakened by the voices within the ball, or was it specially created so that only she could hear them? She decided to take a chance and set her finger tips on the crystal ball, rubbing them in smooth, slow circles as images began to swirl and form beneath her touch.

* * *

Robecca directed more power to her thrusters, a massive amount of smoke and steam belching out of the bottom of her rocket boots as sge came closer and closer to the upcoming ramp before she shot upwards and off, soaring high through the air where she tucked her legs underneath her and curled the rest of herself into a ball, allowing her to somersault through the air until she touched down on the ramp on the opposite side of a large pit of mud that reached down quite a ways.

She twisted her boots to the right, pushing her into theat direction to avoid walls that suddenly sprouted pop-up spikes as they jutted out of the ground, before she bent her legs and jumped into the air, doing the splits as she soared just over a row of sharp spikes that were thrust out of the ground one after the other until she touched back down on the ground, a smile on her face as she neared the finish line; despite the fact that she a had suffered a few dents that could use some smoothing and her systems were beginning to overheat from her instense training, she had never felt so alive; in the figurative sense that is.

A sudden thundering noise pounded against her audio sensors and she nearly lost control of her systems for a brief moment as a black and blue blur shot past almost before her optical sensors could document and capture it within her memory banks; despite the object moving faster than she could almost blink, she still managed to catch the fact that the thing had taunted her by making a face at her and attempting to make some kind of a gesture with its claws before rocketing off. A cloud of steam escaped Robecca's ears as she redirected all fuel to her thrusters and shut down any unnecessary functions as her rocket boots shuddered for a moment before spewing out flames and smoke and propelling her forward as fast she could to catch up to the black and blue blur as it raced across the finish line and went around the track again in a victory lap; Robecca would make sure that she would cross the finish line before her opponent was able to rub his victory in her face any further.

"Come on, come on . . ." she silently chanted to herself as she heard a familiar sonic boom from behind her nearly rattle her audio sensors out of her metal skull; if she could just close the last couple of feet between herself and the finish line, the rigorous workout she was giving herself would be worth more than it usually was. With the last of her strength, she pushed herself forward, steam pouring out of her ears as her distance from the finish line became shorter and shorter until it was only a couple more feet; she could feel a massive wind coming from behind her that hiked up her skirt to the point her it nearly looked like she was wearing an umbrella turned inside out during a rainstorm around her waist. A sudden yelp came from behind her before she was suddenly slammed into, her world becoming nothing more than a tangle of metal arms and legs mixed in with blue skin and sharp claws with a long, whip-like tail coming into view every few seconds as they rolled along the ground across the finish line and came to a screech halt in a heap of body parts.

"Ouch." XLR8 groaned as his tail fell limp to the ground. "Not one of my better landings. Definetely in my Top 10 Crash Landings list."

"This is a regular thing for you?" Robecca sounded surprised as she removed her metal arm from the Kinceleran's gut and pulling her copper leg out from between the alien's strange feet.

"You have no idea." XLR8 moaned as he climbed to his feet and cracked his aching back. "Not as bad as some of my over crashes though; trying falling out of planetary orbit with your butt on fire. Twice." he grunted as Robecca laughed a little.

"I guess my first crash pales in comparrison to yours," she chuckled. "Was shut down for nearly two centuries before I was reactivated. 'Course, I wasn't on fire, but it was still bad."

"I'll take your word for it." XLR8 smiled before the Kinceleran was encompassed in a bright flash of green light that returned Ben back to the world, a curious look and slight blush on his face. "Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything, luv."

"You know before we crashed?" he asked awkwardly. "I, uh, kinda . . . saw up your skirt . . ." he trailed off, his blush deepening as a massive cloud of steam poured out of Robecca's ears. "Um . . . why aren't you wearing any underwear?" he asked in quiet voice; neither of them could fully look the other in the face without blushing out spewing out more steam.

"Well . . . I guess I . . . never really had a use for it?" she replied timidly.

"But . . . don't you have . . . you know . . ." Ben gestured wildly, though he wasn't entirely sure _what_ he was gesturing at.

"I am inorganic, Ben; I don't have a fully functional digestive system, my father was unable to replicate a reproductive system of any kind, and thus, my father left out . . . certain things." she blushed as another jet of stream jetsoned out of her ears.

"What do you mean?" Ben's face was now a deep crimson.

Robecca was sure that her systems were starting overheat as yet another cloud steam enveloped her face, her artificial heart beating faster and faster as oil and water were pumped through her veins; her memory banks were desperately searching for an oppropriate response, but her optical senses refused to let her think in peace, always flickering to take in all of Ben, everything from his real, brown hair and his real, green eyes to his real, smooth skin and real, strong muscles underneath that real skin. Everything about Ben just seemed so . . . real.

"Follow me, luv. I think you need to see in order to understand." she suddenly said before clapping her metal hands over her mouth, having just realized what she had said.

"Uh . . ." was all Ben could say as his face turned a full red; he could almost envision clouds of steam puffing out of his own ears from embarassment. "System error?" he guessed.

"Y-yeah. Sorry about that, luv." she said shakily. "But . . . do you still want see?" she asked, more steam filling the air again.

"If it's okay with you." Ben nodded. "I'm not quite sure I still understand what you're talking about." The two of them gulped and Robecca shakily took Ben's hand, calming down slightly when his fingers closed around her own while she led him towards the outskirts of the SKRM track and to the locker rooms where she quickly pulled him into the ghoul's side and hoped to Sphinx that no one would happen to come down and see them together.

"Should I . . . ?" Ben trailed off; Robecca shook her head as she slipped off her black jacket and let it fall to the floor as she down and in front of her to undo the blue, metal, skirt-like overlay that caged a black skirt behind its frame. Ben felt his face heat up like a pile of hot coals as he watched Robecca slip off her shirt and undid her gold colored corest; she had a scared expression on her face, as if she was undressing for the entire world to gape at.

Ben gave her a supportive look and Robecca allowed herself a small smile as she slipped her black skirt off and stood there fully nude for Ben to stare at, her arms crossed uncomfortably over her descent sized bust; all Ben could do was stare, but not because he found Robecca sexually attractive. Every last inch of her was perfect, as if she had crafted by the gods themselves. Despite the few dents that had been nailed into her flawless, copper skin, Ben couldn't have imagined anyone more beautiful. Her skin was immaculate, each metal panel riveted into place without interruption and her breasts were round and firm without losing any perk or changing size. Her tight hourglass figure was permanent and absolute, with the corset being nothing else but for show and her well formed curves were without assitance of any kind.

"You . . . you're . . . you're beautiful . . ." Ben was absolutely breathless; any other ghoul he had ever come across paled in comparrison to the stunning creation before him. He found himself slowly reaching towards her, backing off slightly when Robecca shied away. He cautioiusly reached out to her and tentavily lay a hand on her shoulder, slowly sliding his hand down her skin and marveling at the craftsmanship. He set her other hand on her stomach this time, sensing a warm sensation underneath her copper plating as he gradually slid his hands over Robecca's body; the robot shivered with pleasure as she felt Ben's hands glide across her back and legs, thankful that he restricted from touching her in other places.

"I-I'm not special . . ." Robecca shied away from Ben's words, steam jetsoning from her ears. "I'm nothing like you or any other ghoul out there." she blushed; now that Ben looked closely, he noticed that as perfect as she was, there were flaws in Robecca's design. She had no belly button, unlike the ghouls he had seen strutting around Gloom Beach in their bikinis and while he had never seen one up close, he was pretty sure the area between her legs was supposed to open up; all that was there was a small crease in the metal plating, nothing else. "I'm nothing like Venus or Rochelle."

"No, you're not." Ben replied. "You're better. You may not function like them, but you're definetly special." he breathed as he slid his hand behind her head where Robecca sudden hissed when his fingers touched a certain spot between her neck and jaw. "Sorry!" Ben quickly apologized, jerking his hands away.

"N-no, no. I-It's fine." Robecca reassured him almost breathlessly. "You just hit one of my pleasure centers."

"Pleasure centers?" Ben sounded confused, but relieved he hadn't put her in any pain.

"I have an artificial nerve system, luv." Robecca explained. "Unlike organic beings, I can turn it up when there's a particularly good feeling I want to feel more of, or turn it off seconds before injury, like that crash we were in before."

"So, you'll be able to feel something like this?" Ben asked as he suddenly lunged forward and returned his hand back to the area that had sent her systems reeling, slowly rubbing his thumb in small, slow cirlces in the air as Robecca's eyes drooped shut and she savored the feeling moaning slightly as Ben carefully moved his hands along her neck and shoulders, never straying any farther than her shoulder blades. Ben never strayed his eyes away from her as he used his other hand to touch her head, gently fingering the rivets that held the paneling together in her forehead before his fingers found their way into her long, blue and black locks, causing the robot to shudder; even her bolts quivered in the sockets.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked after a few minutes of this.

"F-fine." Robecca shivered at his touch.

"Then why won't you look at me?" Ben asked.

"You . . . you don't that I'm . . . ugly?" Robecca sounded unsure.

"Are you kidding? You're the most drop dead gorgeous ghoul I've ever met!" Ben exclaimed. "Sure, you may not be a real ghoul, but that's not what matters. You're unique, you're kind, and while you may be old fashioned, I don't care. Just because you're built differently, doesn't mean that you're different than me."

A cloud of steam poured out of Robecca's ears as she suddenly jammed her head forward and captured Ben's lips in her own, holding it there for a brief second and turning up the settings on her nervous system to as high as they would go before dropping them back down to their normal settings and breaking away from Ben. "S-sorry. You just . . . moved me." she couldn't seem to find the words.

Ben seemed stunned and Robecca feared she had either overstimulated his mind or had disgusted him so much that he probably wouldn't be able to look at her. She bent over to gather her fallen clothes and simply leave in shame when Ben grabbed her hand and caught her attention just before he pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss; a jet of steam came pouring out of Robecca's ears and enveloped them both as Robecca cupped Ben's head in her hands and savored the moment, turning her nervous system all the way back up to it's maximum setting. The two teens began to move their lips in accordance to the other's, matching one another's movements and savoring the moment for as long as possible as Robecca took Ben's hand in his and gave it a small squeeze before bringing it up laying it down her left breast, firmly holding it in place when she felt Ben tense up; she wasn't intending to go to such lengths with Ben just yet, if ever, but she wanted him to feel something.

"I can feel your heart." Ben remarked as soon as Robecca let him go so he could breath; she did not require air all that much, only snipets for her artificial lungs to wheeze in and out and sample the surrounding aromas.

"It beats faster when you're near it, luv." Robecca blushed; a slight hissing noise filled the air, like a hose that had been turned on with any water flowing out, just empty air. It seemed Robecca had run out of steam from all of her latest emotional developments.

"Glad to hear it." Ben smiled before he took a small step back; Robecca looked confused and hurt for a few seconds before Ben grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head, exposing his bare chest to Robecca as she tried to avert her gaze, but found herself peeking through her fingers as Ben kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his pants, letting them drop to the ground before he kicked them away and slipped off his boxers, now standing fully nude with nothing but his socks on his feet and the Omnitrix on his wrist.

"Since you're already undressed, I thought it was only fair." was his explanation as Robecca attempted to look away from him but found she couldn't. She took a timid step forward and cautiously touched her metal fingers to his smooth skin, the thousands of millions of her nerves in her hands sending information to her memory banks. She had touched her own skin every now and then and had acknowledged that it was considerably smooth compared to other textures, but this was beyond anything else she had touched before; it was so soft and smooth, unlike Rochelle's hard, tough exterior or Venus's squishy, plush vines. She could almost sense the blood flowing through Ben's veins as she brushed her hand against his other arm, tracing her hands over Ben's strong muscles and up his arms to his broad shoulders.

Robecca felt his collar bone and carressed his chest with her hands, running a finger along his sternum that sent a shiver through Ben's body as she lay her copper palm over his left pectoral, tensing slightly when she felt a strong heartbeat underneath her hand. "It beats faster when you're near it." Ben smiled, copying her words.

Robecca suddenly lunged forward and pressed her lips to Ben's, kissing him deeply as she thrust her artificial tongue past his lips and into his mouth, battling with his own and shuddering uncontrollably every time Ben's tongue struck one of the desired points inside of her mouth; she felt Ben wrap his strong arms around her waist and hug her close, pressing her body to his without even wincing when her breasts jabbed into his chest. She slithered her arms around his neck, holding him close to her as she dug her fingers into his scalp, a steam cloud escpaing her ears and encompassing the both of them until she let Ben break away so that he could breath.

"I love you, luv." she smiled as she hugged him and rest her head on his shoulder.

"Love you, too, my Copper Beauty." he smiled back.

"Oh, my, _GHOUL!_ "

Ben and Robecca turned around to see Spectra halfway phased through the locker room door, frozen in mid-stride as if she had simply been entering the room to change and had unintentionally walked in on the two, naked teens; the ghost quickly fumbled around for her iCoffin, but Ben had faster reflexes as he turned to the Omnitrix and came across the alien he needed before slapping the activation button, swallowing himself in a bright, green light. His gut and chest exploded in size and bloated outwards into a perfect sphere of flesh as his arms and legs were absorbed by the ball of muscle and tissue; his skin cracked and split as it hardened into a thin, metallic sheen colored a deep bronze in color as black markings etched their watch across the perfect sphere before Ben's legs came jutting back out as black tubing or sorts before the ends suddenly swelled int size and shape, becoming something that resembled a bell as his arms were thrust back out, mirroring his legs as his wrists bloated into large balls with his metallic, jointed fingers poking out at the ends. His head popped back out of the top, now bronze and black around the face with emotionless, green expressions that remained unmoving as his head flattened before a sudden growth sprouted from his skull, forming into a windup key-like protrusion; a hexagonal, glass panel opened up on his chest, the Omnitrix forming at its center as green, glowing gears materialized behind the pane of glass, completing the transformation.

"Time out!" Clockwork yelled. Before Spectra could take a single picture, the windup key on the Chronosapien's head suddenly spun counter clockwise as a green beam of energy coursed outwards while the toll of a large, hollow bell echoed through the locker room; the beam swept everything, freezing it in place as Spectra's translucent finger forze just half an inch over the record button of her iCoffin.

"I suggest we get out of here while we still can." Clockwork said as he gathered up his clothes; Robecca gaped for a second before blushing and nodding vigorously, quickly redressing herself and waiting as Clockwork opened the door of the locker room for her, Spectra still frozen halfway through the door itself as they stepped back out into the arena.

"Now to make sure this never happens." the Chronosapien grunted as the windup key on his head started to slowly turn backwards. Robecca watched in amazement as Spectra suddenly floated backwards and out of the door, slipping her iCoffin back into her pocket and flying backwards and through one of the archways that led into the SKRM arena; a colony of bats flew backwards through the air, their wing movements going in reverse as they swept back to their nesting grounds much to Robecca's astonishment. By the time Clockwork was done, the arena was empty of all life and activity; the Chronosapien spun the windup key-like protrusion on his head clockwise once more, returning the flow of time back to normal just before the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world.

"There we go. Spectra should be along in exactly eleven seconds." Ben dusted off his hands just before the previously mentioned ghost came flying in through the archway and waved at them before phasing through the door to the ghoul's locker room.

"You are bloody brilliant, mate!" Robecca exclaimed, hugging Ben tightly.

"I know I am," Ben chuckled. "And so are you." he added, kissing her forehead as another jet of steam swallowed them whole in its foggy bank.

 **And there we go!**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll!  
**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	9. It's not Easy being Green

_**Kaixo,**_ **man-sters and ghouls! I have once again returned, though I don't know where I possibly could have gone. Have I used this greeting already?**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Venus McFlytrap!**

 _ **Venus, m'lady, very scary,**_

 _ **How does your garden grow?**_

 _ **With Mandrake yells, and flowers from Hell,**_

 _ **And so your death trap grows.**_

 **A little, morbid poem I came up with that's based on a nursery rhyme that I can't remember the name to; maybe I should use this in my sequel?**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

"Aw, man! I'm gonna be late!" Ben cursed as he jogged down the sidewalk as fast as he could, his black and green backpack with a white number 10 stenciled on its front thumping against his back with every step he took. It was getting towards the last few weeks of school before Scream Break, and the sun was already bright and warm in the morning, and the creeping willow trees swayed their long, draping branches in the hot breeze; today was going to be a good day weather wise. Now if he could only get to school on time.

"Wait, what am I doing?" Ben smacked himself upside the head for his ignorance before he turned to the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before finding the alien he wanted and slamming a hand down on the activation button, engulfing himself in a brilliant, green light. His skin hardened into a thick exoskeleton, becoming jointed and plated as it turned a dull green in color. His bones vanished as his skull became pointed and even thicker than before as his eyebrows took on a physical form and formed into two, horn-like growths; his teeth cracked and sharpened into needle-like fangs that neatly fit together when Ben closed his mouth. His legs ground and fractured as his knees bent backwards into a completely different limb, a sort of thin webbing forming between the joints as his toes ripped out of his shoes into toe, large claws as a third was thrust out from his heel bone. His two middle fingers snapped and groaned as they were sucked back into his hand, the remaining digits twisting into sharp claws as his body pinched in two sections; his rear end swelled into a slim abdomen as sharp spines popped out of his arms and ankles and a pair of green overalls with black stripes all over materialized on his new body just as the Omnitrix appeared on his stomach, completing the transformation.

" _WOO-HOO!_ " Crashhopper cheered as he bunched up his legs and launched himself through the air, the wind whistling past his face as he rocketed upwards and reached his climax, plummeting back down towards the ground like a guided missile where he crashed into the road, leaving a slight crater riddled with cracks and fissures before he was bounced up into the air again. He bounced all over the road, jumping from one side of it to the other effortlessly as he cleared city blocks in single bounds; he even managed to clear the entire De Nile mansion with a single jump, just barely scrapping the top of the pyramid before he came back down.

He was eager to school and not just because he was late, though that was a pretty big reason; the last time anyone other than Robecca Steam was late, they had to clean out The Pit of Horror with nothing more than an old, wooden ladle that Kindergrubber was about to throw out after Heath had accidentally sneezed all over and nearly reduced to ash. No, the other reason why he wanted to get to school was because _she_ would be there, waiting for him with her brilliant smile and bubbling personality. When she wasn't obsessing about her precious "children", that is.

It then came to him as a great surprise when Crashhopper found that the outside of Monster High was completely packed with Monsters of every kind, the students and staff all pressed together into the courtyard. This confused him greatly, as there was plenty of room outside, and yet the Monsters were acting like the school itself had the plague. As he got closer, he could see why they were avoiding it so much; the front door was completely blocked off by thick vines tipped with razor sharp thorns and stranglers, the gaping maws of snap dragons and Venus flytraps snapping at anything that came too close. Creepers and branches were thrust out of the windows as trunks and canopies took over the roof with roots being jammed out of the walls and ground.

"In coming!" Crashhopper cried as he came plummeting down straight at the crowd. The students and staff all looked up for a breif second before scrambling away from the area the insect-like alien was descending on, the last one managing to run away just before he made impact and cracked the pavement as if a wrecking ball had been dropped there.

"What the Sphinx is going on?" Crashhopper asked as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world in a flash of green light.

"Ah, Mr. Tennyson. Just the Monster I was looking for." Headless Headmistress Bloodgood greeted him as the crowd parted for a tall, commanding woman with pale skin, silver-ish eyes and short black hair dressed in a purple frock coat, a white frilled shirt and cravat, black trousers, and black riding boots rode up to him atop blue horse with fiery, red eyes and a purple mane; smoke snorted out of the animal's nostrils every few seconds as she feverishly glanced between Ben and the school with fear.

"What's going on?" Ben asked.

"We have a slight issue, I'm afraid." Bloodgood sighed as her body popped her head off of its shoulders and brought it down so that she was level with Ben.

"I can see that." Ben said to the disembodied head.

"It's worse than that, I'm afraid," Bloodgood shook her head. "One of our students is still inside, trapped. Any attempt to get inside is . . . fruitless, I'm afraid. No pun intended." she added uncomfortably.

"Why? What happens?" Ben asked.

"The front doors are guarded by a sort of strangling vine," Bloodgood explained. "Any attempt to get past them, and the vines immediate attack, wrapping themselves around the victim and draining them of their bodily fluids until they are nothing but a lifeless husk." Bloodgood's body shivered at the words. "Just look at poor Manny."

Ben glanced away to see the large Minotaur being carted away by a squad of ambulance gargoyles, looking severely dehydrated with a worried Iris at his side; Ben cringed before recomposing himself. "So, who's left inside?"

"Ms. McFlytrap has failed to be accounted for." Bloodgood replied. "Concerned students have attempted to call her iCoffin, but she has not answered or even picked up; we fear she may be trapped."

"Then I'm going in there myself." Ben growled with determination, cracking his knuckles and slipping off his backpack to hand to Bloodgood's body.

"I would advise against it, Mr. Tennyson." Bloodgood shook her head before her body reattached it to its shoulders. "The plants attack everything that comes within range that isn't a plant; only Ms. Nightshade ever managed to get close enough toe the doors. Unfortunately, she refuses to do anything about the situation." the Headmistress sighed with annoyance.

"I'm still going in." Ben frowned as he tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before selecting a desirable transformation and slamming a hand down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a flash of green light, his genetic code becoming warped and twisted into something the world had ever seen. His skin began to harden into a smooth covering, little diamonds and crystals racing up his arms and legs to cover him as his bones disappeared altogether, fused with his skin into a tough, mineral-like substance; his skeleton crunched and snapped as his frame increased upwards as his jawline was thrust outwards while his head pinched back into a sharp crest. Two, sharp blades were suddenly thrust out of his back and his arms swelled and bulked up in side; a black jumpsuit with a thick, green stripe down the middle materialized on his person as the Omnitrix appeared around his waist in the form of a belt, completing the transformation.

"Lets see 'em chew on this." Diamondhead grunted as he shifted his two arms into a pair of sharpened blades; ignoring the stares he was getting at, the Petrosapien lumbered up to the doors and swung his arms, slicing through the plants that blocked the front doors like his arms were machetes. With a yell, he rushed through the doors, just barely noticing that the wall of vines and creepers he had just cut away were already regrowing, rapidly recovering the lost ground of the front door as he made his way into the main lobby of the school.

The area had been completely taken over by the toxic jungle; thick, limp vines formed a green carpet on the floor for the Petrosapien to walk upon, thorny creepers covered the walls and stranglers were wrapped around the remains of the lockers on the wall. A full grown tree had grown right in the center of the lobby, its roots thrust deep into the floor and its branches punching through the ceiling, curtains of vines draped over the tree's branches as shrubs grew from the carpeting and out of the lockers in an entangled web of greenery. Venus flytraps and snapdragons flapped open their fanged traps at him as he hacked and slashed his way through the jungle, unsure of where he should be heading or where Venus's whereabouts were.

"What could have caused all this?" Diamondhead wondered he hacked away at more of the strangling vines that attempted to drain him of his fluids; his crystalline skin prevented them from even scratching the surface, but this didn't make them anymore of an annoyance. And the fact that they almost grew back instantaneously were nearly driving him made as his fresh cut pathway would disappear as the jungle regrew.

A sudden growl caught his attention and he looked down the hallway to see a massive plant glowering at him; the beast was firmly rooted into the floor of the hallway, with a thick, thorny stem and gigantic, bright orange petals of which a cage of razor sharp teeth dripping with acidic saliva sat in the center. "Oh, you wanna tangle with this, do ya?" the Petrosapien growled when several, thorny tendrils that belonged to the plant monster reached for him and attempted to capture him.

With a yell, Diamondhead spun his bladed arms and sliced the vines in half before rushing at the plant monster itself, cutting through more vines as they attempted to snag him and drag him to the floor where he would most likely be wrapped up like a spider's lunch and consumed over a period of weeks; not if he could help it. The Petrosapien swung his blades one more time and chopped through a large tendril that had risen up and attempted to crush him into hundreds of shards before it fell to the ground, limp; Diamondhead took the chance to then jam a fist into floor, sending diamonds and crystals jutting up through the carpetting as they raced right towards the monster flower and trapped it, pinning its head where it couldn't move. With a yell that was only matched by the terrified screech of the monster plant, Diamondhead charged right at the gigantic flower and swung a blade arm, decapitating it with one fluid motion of its arm.

"Now if I were Venus, where would I hole up?" Diamondhead hummed as the Omnitrix timed out and returned him to his original form in a burst of green light. "The Monster High Garden! Of course!" he snapped his fingers in realization before he noticed that several of the vines were starting to inch towards him, sensing food was near by. Without hesitation, Ben turned on the Omnitrix and slapped the activation button, swallowing himself in a bright, green light. He felt himself grow taller and much more muscled as thick, shaggy, gray colored fur sprouted all over his body as his back and chest swelled with muscle and tissue. Ben's face bulged forward into a pointed muzzle lined with sharp, canine teeth as a wet, black nose formed at the end; organs sloshed around inside of him as his bones crunched and ground heavily as his muzzle split into four, flexible flaps. His fingers became longer and tipped with razor sharp claws that looked like they could easily slice through most objects. His toes melted together into two, large talons as a third sprouted from his heel and a long, furry tail grew from the base of his spine. A mane of dark, shaggy fur rose from the back of his neck as spikes rose from his elbows and shoulders; a green and black suit appeared on his shifting body with green wrist bands and a collar around his neck with the Omnitrix symbol at the center, completing the transformation.

With a low snarl, Blitzwolfer stalked down the hallway in the direction of the garden, his nose put to the ground as he attempted to get a hold of Venus's scent; the only thing was, it was all but impossible. Her scent was all over the place, as if she were the school itself, but the Loboan knew that the mere idea of it was absolutely ridiculous; a tug on his ankle caught his attention, and he turned to see a thorny vine around his leg, holding him fast and tight as more creepers started to converge on him, slithering over the floor and walls, consuming the entire hallway in green as they crept towards him. Blitzwolfer sliced the vine off of his leg with his claws before turning down the hallway to suck in a deep breath and open his jaws, unleashing an ultra sonic howl that sent the vines all flying back into a huge, limp pile as the Loboan took his chance and ran after them on all fours, turning down a hallway to come to a slow walk.

"Geez, what happened here?" Blitzwolfer marveled at the hundreds of plants that had taken over the school; they were literally everywhere, inside the lockers, inside the classrooms, hanging from the ceilings, even pushing their way up through the sinks and toilets of the bathrooms, creating huge lakes of water that spewed forth from the broken pipes and filled the corridors with mold. "Venus! Hello!?" he called out.

A faint scream came a distance away. With a howl, Blitzwolfer took off down the hallway, his claws digging deep into the carpet and leaving deep gouges wherever his hands and feet touched down before they popped back up into the air, propelling him down the hallway. The hot, humid air that had accumulated in the artificial jungle swept past the Loboan's fur as his flexible spine allowed him to increase his strides and sprint even faster, much like a cheetah; Blitzwolfer would have found that funny, maybe even ironic had the situation not been so dire.

The Loboan dashed down the corridor as fast as he could, turning a tight corner by running up the wall and clinging to the vines and stranglers before coming back down to the floor, racing off again once more. As he raced down a long hallway, large creepers with vicious looking thorns and even scarier, fanged jaws lunged and snapped at him; thorny roots burst up through the floor, arching over the carpet before stabbing themselves back downwards, only to shoot back up as they chased after Blitzwolfer in hunger, their insatiable appetite driving them forward in their mad hunger.

He turned down another corner, only to be suddenly blocked as thorny brambles shot out of the walls, sending plaster ships flying as they stabbed into the opposite wall ahead of them, creating a blockade of sorts as the act was repeated behind Blitzwolfer, walling him in; he raised an arm and sliced through the brambles with his wicked claws, cutting them to ribbons and surging forward before they could regrow. Several, long, twisted vines burst out of the surrounding lockers, tipped with bright, orange flowers that gave off a soft, unnatural, blue glow from their centers before sharp spikes shot out from between their petals. The plants then surged forward at Blitzwolfer as more of the thorny brambles from the ground started to grow, quickly approaching him in the hopes of ensnaring him and holding him in place while the jungle fed; Blitzwolfer drew back his head as he sucked in a deep breath before blasting it back out, his muzzle splitting into four, flexible flaps lined with as an ultrasonic howl rocked the hallway and blew all the attacking plants into dust, taking off down the hall before the plants could regrow.

"Everything in this jungle is tryin' ta kill me!" Blitzwolfer exclaimed as he ducked just in time to avoid having his head taking off by the sudden snap of a gigantic, hungry plant's jaws; the plant itself blinked its two, golden eyes as it ground its fangs together in irritation at having missed a meal. "What's next, a plant with legs!?" the Loboan shivered at the sight of the apparently intelligent plant.

A sudden screech caught his attention, and he looked to his left in shock to see a pack of strange creatures come rushing at him; while they had no visible mouths, they howled and screeched like angry monkeys as they on each of their thick legs tipped with a single, thorn-like toe before thin, vine-like structures attached them to the cone shaped body in the appropriate place for a quadruped animal. The head itself was either a fiery orange or deep magenta in color, depending on the supposed gender of the creature as a group of tubers, moss, and roots formed a sort of beard-like growth formed at the base of the neck; the petals would part every now and then to let a long, slimy tongue slip out and taste the air before slipping back between double rows of teeth that marked the petals.

"Me and my big mouth." Bliztwolfer whimpered before he turned tail and ran away from the pack of half a dozen or so plant monsters; the Loboan decided to refer to them as Snap Lions, as apposed to the many snapdragons that dotted the walls and floors before taking pot shots at Blitzwolfer in the hopes of snagging him. The two groups of predators raced through the hallways of Monster High, the Snap Lions roaring and screeching horribly as they started to gain ground on the Loboan while he led them down a long hallway past the already claimed Creepateria and hanging a sharp left before diving past a pair of heavy, metal doors; the Snap Lions followed without hesitation, barreling through the doors and coming to a stop as the half a dozen monstrosities sampled the air with their long tongues, searching for their prey. The room was hot and steamy, and the scent of some kind of substance or other that made the plants reel with hesitation, giving Blitzwolfer the edge her needed to jump down from the ceiling and tackle the lead animal to the ground, digging his teeth into its soft, green flesh and shredding its neck and forelegs with its claws until the creature gave a final screech of agony and died; the rest of the pack roared and lunged at the Loboan, eager to avenge their former leader and desperate to get a meal. The alien werewolf sucked in another breath and sent it back out, the resulting ultrasonic howl sending the Snap Lions flying into the Monster High indoor pool, where they immediately began to howl bloody murder as the corrosive chlorine ate away at their vulnerable sides and stems as they desperately tried to make it back to the edge and pull themselves out; the water suddenly churned as six, massive, slimy tentacles tipped with razor sharp hooks on every sucker suddenly rose out of the water and latched onto each of the remaining Snap Lions before dragging them beneath the surface, the last tentacle slithering over the edge of the pool to snag that carcass at Blitzwolfer's feet.

"Never thought I'd be _glad_ to see that thing." the Loboan shook his head as the Omnitrix timed out and returned him to his human form in a flash of green light. "I just wish I could find Venus." he muttered under his breath; while he was equally concerned for Venus's safety, he also needed to tell her something. Some very important.

A low hiss drew his attention away from his thoughts, and he noticed that while the area around the pool remained relatively plant free, the walls, edges, and corners were teaming with plant life of all varieties; all were looking at him with primal hunger, whether they had eyes or not. A particularly large plant took up an entire corner, growling low and hissing loudly at the same time. The reason the particular plant had drawn Ben's attention was that because, unlike pretty much every last other plant he had seen in the school so far, this one was stark white, with writhering, black tendril-like roots that burst out of the concrete floor and tiles as they slowly slithered closer to Ben, the three, pale, blue eyes on the plant's stem starring at him intently as a gaping mouth that ran up half the vertical length of the plant opened and shut every few seconds while the toothed trap attached to the end of the stem simply drooled.

"Uh, I don't suppose you're a vegetarian?" Ben gulped nervously; the plant now seemed seriously offended and looked as if it were contemplating whether or not it should Ben out of hunger or vengeance. It quickly mind up whatever sort of mind it had and lunged forward with both its tentacles and top set of jaws, aiming straight Ben as he tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before selecting a random alien and slapping the activation button, swallowing himself in a flash of green light. His skin turned a light blue and smooth and slimy in texture as his arms sucked back into his shoulders with a loud cracking sound until all that was left were his hands hanging limp at his side. His jaw jutted outwards as his skeleton became thinner and more flexible than before, a set of gills appearing behind his jaws; a shark-like fin rose from his back region as his neck became non-exsitent, his head fusing with his chest as his body shrank and became more rotund. His legs shrank until they were practically sticks with feet attached to them and a loud, cracking sound caught his attention as a small fish tail popped out from the base of his spine. A green chest brace with the Omnitrix at its center materialized on his body, completing the transformation.

"What the- I DON'T WANNA DIE A SEAFOOD PLATTER!" Walkatrout screamed. The Ickthyperambuloid yelped as the slimy, black tendrils came racing at him, wrapping themselves around his small, plump body and attempting to drag him back to the main set of jaws on the plant's stems when he suddenly slipped out of the beast's grasp; with a growl, the plant tried again, snagging him once more only to have the slippery little fish escape its grasp again. For the next couple of minutes, Walkatrout was juggled from tendril to tendril, each trying to hold onto him without success.

"Can't catch me!" Walkatrout taunted with a laugh, just before a tendril succeeded in wrapping itself around his tail, securely holding him in place as he was dragged back over to the main set of jaws, a long, slimy tongue slithering out from the teeth to lick it's chops hungrily. "I don't suppose this is one of those catch and release deals?" Walkatrout pleaded nervously. "Because I swear, I taste horrible! I'm poisonous, really! I'm like one of those fudgy-pufferfish!"

The plant paused for a split second, confused slightly by what its snack was talking about before it tossed Walkatrout inside the mouth on its step and snapped its jaws shut, chewing loudly with satisfaction; contrary to what he had claimed, the Ickthyperambuloid actually taste quite good. The plant was about to swallow him after thoroughly chewing into mush when a sudden gurlge came from its jaws. It paused for a second, wondering if what the snack had said was actually true when it quivered and shook for a few seconds before it simply exploded into a disgusting, wet mess of slime.

"This is gonna take forever to wash off! Yuck!" Armodrillo whined as he wiped off some of the revolting, black substance off of his shoulder. "Least I got an effective chainsaw now." he chuckled as his fingers fused together into a hardened tip perfectly made for both barreling through rock and rubble and cutting through trees and vicious, flesh-eating plants that were currently trying to eat him. With a vengeance, the Talpaedan drove one of his metal tips into the wall behind him, tearing through the wall of plants and through the wall itself, sending tubers, roots, and plaster flying in all directions as he came back out into the hallway, stepping in something slimy under his feet; Armodrillo looked down just before a massive, fanged plant trapped him within its petals, secreting digestive juices from its insides as its long, slimy tongue curled itself around him to hold him in place; within seconds, the hidden trap was reduced to ribbons of plant flesh and roots.

"Who else wants a piece!?" the Talpaedan roared as several more thorny vines tipped with more glowing flowers and spikes attempted to pierce his tough, yellow armor. With a yell, Armodrillo cut them all away and charged down the hallway, swinging his swirling, metal tips through the creepers, brambles, and thorns that attempted to ensnare him or block his way, being utterly helpless to the Talapaedan's temper; flying, plant creatures that used their stiff petals like helicopter blades swooped down from the air, spraying a corrosive acid that only irritated him more, reducing them to shreds of soft pedals and rotting plant guts as Armodrillo cut his way through the deadly jungle. Armodrillo roared with rage and rushed further down the corridor, ramming into and through several walls as he mercilessly tore the plant life apart; he crashed through another wall and came upon a heard of horse-like creatures with manes of flowering shoots and legs of thick roots trimmed with leaves peacefully licking the carpet of the school for substance until interruption. The majority of the herd broke away from the angry Talpaedan as soon as he came upon them, but the lead animal was too slow to react.

Armodrillo took this opportunity and held the animal in place as he climbed on its back and grabbed hold of a pair of vines that were attached to where the animal's ears might have been and acted like a pair of reins, giving the vines. The animal screeched and wheeled in the air for a brief second before taking off down the hall at a brisk gallop, easily carrying Armodrillo's weight on its back as the rest of the herd followed after their leader. The Horsetails, as Armodrillo decided to call them, thundered down the hallway, their thick hooves flattening anything in their path as they bounded over thick roots and creepers on the ground; snorting heavily, the Talpaedan cracked the vines harder, pushing his Horsetail even further along and right at a wall. He quickly raised a hand and fused his claws together into a hardened tip, the piston on his elbow jack-hammering up and down as he easily bore through the wall and jumped off the back of the Horsetail with a grunt; the herd of animals snorted and took off before they could get into anymore trouble as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to his original form.

"I'm not sure if I've said it or not yet, but I _really_ hate salad." Ben frowned as he looked around at his new surroundings; he had finally managed to enter the Monster High Garden. The air was hot and humid, feeling as thick as hot soup while hundreds upon thousands of plants grew from every last possible corner. Tall, ancient trees reached towards the glass dome of the garden, punching jagged holes through the glass panes as millions of thorny vines and creepers nearly choked them of their breath. Toothy snapdragons and hungry venus flytraps snarled and screeched as they lunged at Ben, their stems just a few inches too short to eat him. Green was pretty much all Ben could see in any available direction as several Mushroom Gremlins crept through the undergrowth towards him while voracious thorns slithered their way across the ground in search of food, edging closer and closer to Ben.

He took a couple steps back to avoid the advancing vines before he took a chance and jumped over them, running away and trying to put some distance between him and them before a loud _snap!_ met his ears, suddenly yanking him back; Ben looked back to see a thick creeper with sharp, purple thorns wrapped tightly around his wrist, the thorns digging deeply into his skin just as another _snap!_ and jerk of his left arm signaled that his other wrist had been ensnared as well, holding his arms apart tightly as he was held in place; the brambles and creepers slithered faster now, hungry and eager to feast upon their helpless prey before he broke free.

"Stop!"

Ben cracked open his eyes, not even realizing he had been holding them shut, at the sound of commanding voice; from the soft yet firm tone, he could tell it was a female. He looked around for the source of the voice before the foliage in front of him slowly moved aside with what seemed great reluctance to reveal something that made Ben yelp and nearly wet his pants before he realized what it was.

"Venus!?" Ben exclaimed, completely baffled.

The plant monster, to put it lightly, was now more of a monster than ever before. Her bright, neon green and pink longs were tangled up into nasty snarls and greasy locks, some of which looked as if they had been forcefully yanked out of her head with extreme strength and her fangs were long and yellowed, corrosive saliva dripping from her lips. She was held suspended high in the air by a mess of intricate vines, her fingers having been reduced into incredibly long roots and vines that merged with the web of greenery or plunged deep into the ground; moss coated her hands and arms with small shoots dotted her palms and elbows as a branch drapped in moss and creepers thrust itself painfully out of her left shoulder. Her left, blue eye starred at him pleadingly, a series of tightly knit vines growing over the right side of her face and completely obscuring it as a large, yellow rose teeth stabbed into its petals grew out on a long stem and took the place of her right eye. Her denim jacket lay in shreds over the network of vines that trapped her in the air, and most of her tye-dye shirt had been torn to shreds, just barely covering her as her shoes that use to have cute looking fangs etched into the toes growled and snapped at anything within range, their fangs having become real; a pod on her right leg shook violently for a few seconds before suddenly exploding into a noxious, yellow juice that trickled down Venus's ankle and splattered yellow goo all over the area.

"What happened to you?" Ben could barely breath.

"Puberty." Venus choked. "For most Monsters, it's nothing more than just zits or growing pains; sometimes it involves a few days where they go insane, trying to kill, maim, or mate with anything in sight." she explained with shame; it sounded as if she was in great pain. "For us plant creatures, it's so much more. We literally become one with Mother Nature."

"How long does it last?" Ben asked, struggling against his bonds.

"It's supposed to last at least a week, sometimes shorter." Venus replied, her breath catching in her throat. "But it's never this severe." she gestured with her head to the deadly jungle that surrounded her.

"I'm getting you out of here." Ben growled. "Whether I have to cut down every last plant in this school!" he threatened, struggling against his bonds even harder; the surrounding vegetation tensed, as if getting to pounce.

"Don't!" Venus warned; Ben immediately stopped moving. "You'll only make them hungrier."

"Venus, no offense, but they're plants. How smart can they be?" Ben frowned.

"They don't have to be," Venus's voice cracked. "They use me as a sort of information center. Every last plant in this school is connected to me, and as much as I can sense the world through them, they can sense the world through me; they know everything I do."

"You can control them." Ben realized. "Tell them to let you go!"

"I can't." Venus shook her head, her voice barely more than a whisper. "They're only interested in feeding and multiplying. The only reason they listen to me in the first place, is that they see me as an expendable queen or mother; if I hold them back too much, I'll be fully consumed into the green, never to reemerge." she lamented. "That's one reason there aren't a lot of us plant monsters, compared to vampires and werewolves."

Ben gave a guttural growl. "I am getting the both of us out of here, if it's the last thing I do!" he screamed, pulling on his wrists as hard as he could and succeeding in snapping the vines as he turned on the Omnitrix and slapped down on the activation core as the jungle lunged at him just as a green flash of light enveloped him. He felt his flesh become slightly squishy and more stretchable, glancing as he turned a dark green in color, parts of his hips, shoulders, wrists, and knees turning black. Large, red and yellow thorns ripped out of his shoulders and arms as he grew taller and taller, his head just barely stretching up taller than the row of vine covered lockers next to him. His hands turned into yellow claws covered by a dull orange covering with small spikes on his knuckles as fleshy thorns popped out of his disappearing knee caps and melting toes. His entire skeleton seemed to vanish completely to be replace by something like the stem of a plant. He felt his head become engulfed in a fleshy flap as his ebbing skull became pointed and bright colored, like that of a blossoming flower; the flap suddenly split open, forming into a kind of collar as the Omnitrix appeared on his stomach.

"Time to fight fire with Swampfire!" the Methanosian roared as he slammed his hands down onto the stone walkway and sent a ring of hot, methane-fueled fire in all directions, blasting the now burning plants back as they were consumed in hot coals, screeching loudly as they were reduced to ashes. With a grunt, Swampfire snapped off one of the bright thorns on his shoulders and chucked it at the ground where it exploded into a scattering of seeds that quickly grew into a small army of Mutant Pumpkins eagerly awaiting orders.

"Creepy Pumpkin-headed Guys, attack!" Swampfire ordered as he summoned a ball of fire between his fire tips and blasted a massive plant with row after row after row of razor sharp teeth tipped with a sickly venom; the pumpkins obeyed and dove in the battle, clawing and tearing and biting savagely away at the greenery surrounding them and holding them at bay as Ben focused his attention on Venus and rushed up to the web of vines holding her hostage.

"Ben, please, just leave me! Save yourself!" Venus pleaded. "I'm not worth it!"

"Yes . . . you are! Swampfire grunted as he snapped a thick vine in half; Venus hissed in pain. "That hurts you?" the Methanosian asked, horrified.

"Yes . . ." Venus trailed off.

"So that means the whole time I was trying to rescue you . . ." Swampfire whispered, realization coming across his face.

"You were hurting me." Venus finished.

The Methanosian was quite for a moment. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to . . . I mean, if I had known, I would have-"

"Ben?" Venus choked out. "Just go. Leave me to be one with Mother Nature."

Swampfire gave her a hard look. "I mean no disrespect, Venus, but if this is what Mother Nature is, then screw her! You're suffering and I'm not gonna stand for it!" he roared as his hands caught fire and he used his flaming fingers to swiftly cut Venus free of her prison; the plant monster screamed as loud as she could before she dropped to the ground, landing in Swampfire's arms.

"Ben, just leave me here. I'm not done." Venus begged him.

"No, we're getting out of here." Swampfire growled stubbornly as he blasted a thorny creeper with a ball of fire and jogging towards the gaping hole in the wall he had made; once he had left the gardens, he put his fingers to his lips and gave a shrill whistle. There then came a few harrowing seconds of silence as the jungle finally managed to subdue and feast upon the remains of the Mutant Pumpkins before making their way towards the warrior with their queen. A thundering noise caught the Methanosian's attention as the Horsetail's he had encountered easily came barreling down the hallway towards him, screeching and whinnying loudly as the lead animal came to screeching halt and allowed Swampfire to climb onto its back with Venus resting against his chest, too weak and tired to protest as her rescuer grabbed hold of the rein-like veins attached to the animal's head and gave them a swift snap. The Horsetail took off at a brisk pace with the rest of the herd following behind them at full gallop as they thundered through the hallways; the surrounding jungle attacked with renewed vigor, anything to protect and rescue the queen they relied on.

A mare towards the back of the herd was suddenly swarmed by double tribes of Mushroom Gremlins and fell to the ground where it was quickly feasted upon as a young stallion was suddenly attacked from above by the flying flowers Swampfire had encountered earlier, the airborne plants clamping themselves firmly to the Horsetail's skin with thorn-like claws and secreting digestive juices from their toothed maws at their centers.

"This jungle's trying to kill us!" Swampfire screamed. "More so than usual!"

"Leave me . . ." Venus whispered.

"For the last time, no! I am not leaving you in this hellhole of a jungle!" the Methanosian swore loudly as he snapped the reins of his Horsetail and sent them running faster. The rest of the herd picked up the pace, galloping harder and faster just as a stallion taking up the rear was tackled by another pack of Snap Lions and torn to shreds; Swampfire ignored the decrease in their numbers and spurred his Horsetail on, nearing the hidden doors of Monster High. Just when it seemed that they were home free, the entire building shook as something massive stormed into the lobby and stood between them and the exit.

It was the size of a _Tyrannosaurus Rex,_ with a mouth to match; seven rows of razor sharp, venom tipped teeth greeted Swampfire as the beast roared. The creature stood on two, thick, trunk-like legs with three, massive roots acting like toes as a long, vine-like tail riddled with sharp thorns along its entire length and a ball of the spiked protrusions at its tip, like that of a mace. The creature bared most resemblance to that of the dinosaur it rivaled in size with, looking mostly skeleton with its bones composed of twisted tree limbs and branches; a pulsing, red sack was encompassed by the monster's branch-like ribs, acting like a stomach filled with a noxious fluid sloshing around in size as the beast flexed its large, flexible arms tipped with three strong fingers and thumb flexing slightly as it blinked its four, small, orange eyes at them.

" _Florentemsaurus Rex_." Swampfire breathed as he brought his Horsetail to a halt. "Why can't I ever catch a break, huh? Why is it so hard to rescue the girl I love!?" the Methanosian ranted, turning to the Horsetails of the herd as if they actually understood what he was saying.

"You . . . you love me?" Venus murmured.

"Why else would I risk my neck to save you from this jungle hellhole?" Swampfire replied. "I've always valued our friendship, but I guess somewhere along the way I developed feelings for you; I woke up every morning eager to see your dazzling smile, your bright eyes, alluring scent, and sweet voice. While your passion for protecting the environment can be extreme at times, I still love every little quirk about you." the Methanosian explained. "Might as well say my feelings before we're squished into paste." he added as the _Florentemsaurus Rex_ glowered at them, its jaws dripping with toxic saliva.

"No, just you . . ." Venus muttered. "They'll most likely take me back as their queen."

"Well, that's a comforting thought." Swampfire growled sarcastically as a long, thin vine sprouted from his palm, the very tip catching fire like the wick of a dynamite stick while he grabbed the vines attached to the Horsetail's head. "Here goes nothing." he breathed. "BEN TENNYSOOOOON!" he roared at the top of his lungs as he cracked the reins and rushed almost mindlessly at the massive plant monster, catching it off guard for a brief moment as Swampfire lashed out with his vine and wrapped it around one of the _Florentemsaurus Rex's_ legs, pulling as hard as he could while gripping his Horsetail's sides with his thighs as hard as he could, just barely managing to succeed in tripping the massive beast on its squishy stomach as it roared in anger.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Swampfire cheered before the creature climbed to its feet, swinging its tail right at the Methanosian and Venus; Swampfire quickly jerked the reins upwards, and the Horsetail jumped over the swinging limb, several members of the herd following their leader's example; a select few were not so lucky and were swatted like flies as the _Florentemsaurus Rex_ drew in a deep breath and expelled it back out as dark, purple fire.

"It breathes fire!?" Swampfire exclaimed. "Man, I hope this school's insurance is paid up." he grumbled under his breath as he grabbed hold of a sharp log lying on the floor and encircled it with thorny creepers and vines the Methanosian now sported a spiked club as he yelled a battle cry and charged at the beast again, urging his Horsetail onward and jerked the reins aside to avoid another blast of dark, purple flame. The _Florentemsaurus Rex_ shot out another wave of fire from its toothed maw as it rose up to its full height before diving its heads downwards, snapping its jaws and just barely missing Swampfire by a few inches; the Methanosian gave a sudden yell and raised the club above his head, smashing it down on the beast's nose. The _Florentemsaurus Rex_ bellowed in agony, allowing Swampfire to turn his mount around and rush for the doors, swinging his club and managing to cut through the blood sucking vines and out into the bright daylight with the last half a dozen remaining members of the Horsetail herd stampeding out after him with the _Florentemsaurus Rex_ diving right after them and snapping its jaws shut just an inch behind the last Horsetail's hind quarters; it's head was now wedged in the main entrance of the school.

"And that is why no one, and I mean no one, messes with Ben Tennyson!" Swampfire jabbed his club at the beast as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world; he quickly climbed off of the Horsetail with Venus in his arms.

"Ben . . ." Venus whispered.

"What?" Ben asked, almost afraid to ask.

"I need you to . . . put me down . . ." Venus groaned, reaching her hand to her temple and hissing slightly. "Please . . . if you really love me . . . put me down . . ." she pleaded. Ben was silent for a moment, internally debating whether or not he should listen to Venus. On one hand, putting her down could allow her "children" to snag her back into the school, destroying any hope of rescuing her. On the other hand, putting her down might actually relieve her of her pain; while she never expressed it, she was clearly uncomfortable. In the end, Ben bent his knees and laid her on the group as the crowd of staff and students gathered around to stare as Venus curled up into a tight ball. She shuddered once before something remarkable happened.

Dark, pink petals sprouted from the ground around Venus, starting out small before they swelled in size, became bigger and flatter in size and shape. The pink petals started to all tilt towards the side, rubbing against each other and forming a tight wall of sorts that quickly grew upwards and corkscrewed together around Venus, trapping her inside of the massive bud as four, thick, green roots sprouted from the flower's base and plunged deep into the ground, startling several students. The unbloomed flower pulsed and shivered every few seconds, a loud squishing noise coming from inside as it started to increase in size and weight, becoming more round as it filled with some kind of liquid secretion.

"Venus? Is everything okay in there?" Ben asked fearfully; there was no response as the plant grew bigger and bigger, pulsing faster and faster.

"Venus! Can you hear me!?" Ben yelled, pounding a fist on the wall of pink in front of him.

"She can't hear you, Ben." Headmistress Bloodgood replied as she climbed off of Nightmare as the lead Horsetail trotted over to her and snorted a greeting.

"What's happening to her?" Ben asked.

"I'm . . . not entirely sure." Bloodgood admitted. "I've read manuscripts about this, but they did not provide a lot of information about the subject."

This did not comfort Ben in the slightest. "VENUS!" Ben screamed louder, beating his fist against the side of flower even harder than he had been previously doing before he gave up on that and turned to the Omnitrix; he was in the process of selecting Four Arms when the the gigantic flower gave a sudden shudder and rumble before it suddenly exploded, the pink petals popping wide open as the massive flower now bloomed and released a cloud of sweet smelling pollens that would have put the best Monster perfumes to shame. Ben coughed as a cloud of pollen swept over the crowd of students and staff, waving his hand in front of his face as he attempted to look through the cloud of pollen.

"Venus? Are you there?" Ben hacked at the amount of plant dust in his lungs.

A figure started to appear through the cloud of pollen, becoming clearer as the yellow fog started to dissipate into the air; the Monster was tall and retained a slim, hourglass figure with pale, green skin like that of a near dead flower or plant. Two thin arms draped at the ghoul's side, slowly flexing after a few seconds before they were brought up to be looked upon by the figure's face and then were suddenly snapped downwards to cover the ghoul's considerable bust; Ben noticed that the farther down her arms and legs one went, the darker her green skin got until it faded into an almost unnatural black, like that of an old, gnarled tree after a wildfire. Her ass was of a considerable size and her shoulders were slim and rounded, with a pair of sharp, blossom-like frills forming out of her arms to frame her head; sharp thorns poked out from the back of the figure's fingers while a pair of dark, pink vines covered in thorns grew from the base of the blossoms on her shoulders. She had wild pink and green hair that was swept backwards into a long mane that stopped just after her ass and had four, pedal-like growths on her head that formed a crown of sorts, only allowing a long, pink bang to droop over her pale face and across one of her sparkling, blue eyes. Vines and creepers curled around the ghoul's arms and legs, as a bark-like substance grew over her thighs, ass, and breasts, covering them while showing a good deal to anyone who dared to pay attention; not that anyone but Nightmare and the lead Horsetail was distracted by anything else.

"Venus?" Ben gaped in bewilderment. "Is that you?"

"I . . . I think so." the plant ghoul shivered slightly as she looked down at her new and revealing form. "Does anyone have a jacket I can borrow? I'm really cold." she shivered.

"That's cause ya got a clawsome pair of hooters!" Heath's voice wolf whistled from somewhere in the crowd before Abbey slapped him across the head and dragged him away from the crowd by his ear, cursing in Russian under her breath; Venus attempted to cover herself up some more when she realized everyone was starring at her until Headmistress Bloodgood took pity on her and slipped off her purple frock coat for Venus to wear until she could find something less revealing; Venus wrapped the coat tightly around her and slowly walked over to Ben, unknowingly shaking her hips as she moved until she was standing less than a foot away from Ben.

"So," Ben gulped. "This is the new you?"

"I told you Mother Nature had a plan for me." Venus giggled, her plump, pink lips curving upwards as her sharp fangs glistened in the sunlight. "Do you . . . do you still mean everything you said back there?" she asked, gesturing at the _Florentemsaurus Rex_ still stuck in the doorway of Monster High.

"Every last word." Ben nodded as he took Venus's cool hand in his and gave it a soft squeeze, taking care to avoid the thorns on the back of her hands. "I would go through that whole mess a hundred times over to rescue you." he added, refraining from using profane language in from of the Headmistress.

That was all Venus needed to hear. While she was still a little bit unsure of whether Ben would remain loyal to her not just for her new body, she was willing to give him shot; his Methanosian form may have been hot, but his original form was equally attractive and endearing. Plus, he always had this internal warmth with him that sent shivers up her spine. She slowly squeezed Ben's hand, rubbing small circles into his skin with her thumb before the thorny creepers sprouting from her shoulders cautiously reached forward and grabbed Ben's face in their grasp, holding his chin as she brought his face closer to hers and tentatively pressed her lips to his, holding it there for a few precious seconds as she wrapped her arm around Ben's neck and retained a firm hold on his hand; after a few seconds, Ben looped his arms around Venus's thin waist, taking care to avoid the thorns on her body as he hugged her closer, vaguely aware of her large breasts pressing into his chest before they eventually broke away for air.

Venus's face was a dark shade of pink as Ben turned red as well; a round of applause and cat calls came out of the crowd of students as a a shrill wolf whistle echoed across the crowd before being silenced by another loud slap.

"Ahem." Bloodgood coughed. "I don't think I need to tell you that you will need to find more appropriate clothing for tomorrow, Ms. Flytrap; due to the current state of Monster High, I will have no choice but to close it down until we have repaired the damage."

"Understood, Headmistress." Venus nodded.

"So, what do we do with him?" Ben asked, jerking a thumb back at the _Florentemsaurus Rex_ still trapped in the doorway of Monster High as it growled and snorted its hot breath.

"I know of a nice zoo that might take them in." Headmistress replied as she mounted Nightmare once more, taking note of her pet's new friends. "I might be taking a few of these in myself." she remarked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Need a lift?" Ben asked Venus with a smile as he turned on the Omnitrix; Venus took Ben's hand in hers, covering the Omnitrix and turning it off, much to Ben's confusion.

"No, lets walk." she said with a broad grin on her lips and a slight blush on her face. "It's a lovely day to stop and smell the roses, wouldn't you say?"

"That it is." Ben agreed. "That it is."

 **And there we go!**

 **Before I end this, I would like to say that several of the plant creatures in this story were inspired by works of art I found on DeviantArt, the known ones being from _Wolframclaws, Zoratrix, Lanasy, and VegasMike_. The Mushroom Gremlins are based off of the mutant fungi from the original Ben 10 series, and Venus's new look is heavily inspired by Zyra, Rise of the Thorns from League of Legends. And _Florentemsaurus Rex_ translates to "flowering lizard king" in Latin.**

 **On a side note, I will probably be drawing pictures of all these things for my DeviantArt profile once I catch up with all my Nemetrix predator and Haunted drawings.**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	10. Magic Mishaps

_**Salve,**_ **everyone! After a much needed break, I have returned to fill your bleak and meaningless lives with misery and woe! I'm kidding, by the way; I'm sure all of your lives are very interesting. Now, I was originally have the _worst_ case of writer's block yet until my good friend _Morantis_ came in and saved the day; this chapter would not have seen the light of day without them, so go on over to their page and check out some of their works. I swear, they are boo-tiful!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Gigi and Whisp Grant!**

 **That's right! The first semi-harem is here, man-sters and ghouls! Deal with it! XD**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Gigi strolled down the hallway of Monster High, a happy smile plastered on her face as her segemented ponytail bobbed up and down behind her with every step. Other Monsters would casually greet her as she made her way to the front doors of the school, but she hardly paid any attention to them as she would reply back with a simple wave; her day had just gotten a hundred times better when she had gotten word from Headmistress Bloodgood that her sister, Dijinni "Whisp" Grant, was to be attending classes at Monster High for the rest of the year. She didn't know how her sister had managed to garner such a huge amount of time from her genie duties, and for that matter she didn't really care. All she cared about was that her sister was finally coming to visit her.

"Looking forward to seeing your sister in the flesh?" Ben smiled as he appeared at her side; it had become a tradition of sorts for a welcoming committee to be put together for every new student that arrived, all which included Frankie and Lagoona, two of the friendliest and well liked students at Monster High, and Ben, simply because he was able to make the new students feel welcome. Plus, Bloodgood wanted to avoid any startling surprises that might ensue when Ben changed form.

"You know it, babe." she smiled back, a slight, red blush on her cheeks as she slipped her fingers through his and edged a little closer to him; it was very agreeable amongst the shippers of Monster High, wherever they lurked in their deep, dark corners of the school, that Ben and Gigi made not only a cute couple since the day they hooked up, but also a very powerful one at that. With Ben's ability to change his shape into one of millions of alien heroes and Gigi's ability to warp reality at her whim, they were both heavily respected and feared, despite the fact they never abused their powers.

It had been pure luck that ended up together; ironically, they actually had no intention of even hooking up with anyone on the night of the Valentine's Day Dance, what with several different ghouls wanting to dance with Ben and Gigi being little more than a wall flower. She was about to simply give up on having any fun that night and go back to her lamp, when Ben asked her for one last dance before the night ended; it only escalated from there, with both parties developing feelings for the other. If it hadn't been for the timely intervention of their friends, they might never have ended up together. Of course, it took getting locked in a janitor's closet and pretty much every member of the football and casketball team holding the door shut to prevent escape of any kind, but it had worked.

"Think she's reformed?" Frankie asked as she joined the happy couple.

"We've talked several times over the Dijinternet; she's sorry for her previous actions and wishes to make ammends." Gigi replied. "While she was crafty back when we were both in the lamp, I really think she's turned over a new leaf. Especially now that she has her own lamp."

"That's good to hear." Ben nodded as they stopped at the front doors. "I don't want to have get physical if you two have a sibling rivalry." he joked as the two ghouls laughed. The group of three pushed open the front doors, fully expecting to see Gigi's twin sister waiting outside in the courtyard for them with a bright grin on her face; instead, they were met with nothing but the open air and a small, black lantern sitting in the middle of the courtyard.

"Uh, is she running late?" Frankie wondered as she looked around, fully expecting Whisp to pop up out of nowhere and surprise them.

"No, she was supposed to be here." Gigi frowned with confusion; Ben turned on the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before he found the alien he needed and slapped the activation button, swallowing himself in a bright, green light as his DNA was warped and twisted. Deep, orange fur sprouted all over his body, as if a bomb filled with hair had suddenly suddenly exploded inside of him and forced all of the fur to the surface of his skin; his skull sround and cracked as his lower jaw was thrust outwards into a massive underbite, his canine teeth growing huge and perfect for ripping through flesh while patches of skin grew over his eyes and sent him into a world of darkness as they eventually became no longer useful and withered away, fresh bone replacing the gaping holes that had previous been his eye sockets. His ears melted back into his head, becoming little more than mounds of skin that became useless as a row of slits opened on his thickening neck, forming into gill-like structures. His shoulders and arms swelled with tissue and muscle as he was forced down onto them like a second pair of legs, his fingernails ripping through his fingers as they turned into menacing, sharp claws. His leg bones cracked and snapped as they were forced into the hind leg structure like that of a dog as a patch of sharp, pointed quills formed on his back between his shoulder blades; a thick, green collar appeared around Ben's neck as the Omnitrix appeared in a sudden burst of green light, completing the transformation.

With a low snarl from his expandable throat, Wildmutt took a deep sniff of Gigi's sent and put his nose to the ground, lumbering around the courtyard as he sifted through the millions upon millions of different smells that lingered around the school, picking out individual scents until he had gone through them all; he smelled Cleo's expensive perfume, Manny's horrible body odor, and a sweet, rotting scent that could have only come from Venus. But among all of those, there was one odor that confused him greatly; it was similar to Gigi's, smelling of exotic spices and soft silk, yet it seemed cooler and darker, if that was even possible. The strange thing was, the scent was strongest at the strange, black lantern sitting in the middle of the courtyard.

"That's odd." Frankie mused to herself when the Vulpimancer caught her attention and pulled her towards the latern. "What's this?"

"It looks like Whisp's lamp." Gigi noted.

"Should I rub it?" Frankie asked.

Wildmutt shrugged his shoulders and made several hand gestures and grunts. "Worth a shot." Gigi guessed at the translation. Frankie cautiously ran her fingers over the side of the lamp, quickly holding it out at arms length as a bright light flickered on inside of the lantern, quickly getting brighter and brighter with every pasting second until the lamp suddenly bounced out of Frankie's hands and onto the ground, shaking and rattling loudly. The top of the lantern clacked open loudly as a cloud of dark, blue and purple smoke rose out of the top, rising higher and higher into the air as a deafening scream echoed across the courtyard as a large, demonic looking figure rose out of the smoke.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- OY!" the figure exclaimed, wincing as it's neck cracked loudly. "Nine-hundred and a half years will give you such a crick in the neck!" the mysterious figure complained loudly as it bent down and complained to the trio, as if they understood what it was talking about.

"Uh . . ." Frankie trailed off before the figure held up a delicate finger.

"Hang on a second!" it requested as it grabbed its head and popped it right off of its shoulders with little effort before twirling its head around on her finger like a basketball before placing it back on its neck; while Wildmutt couldn't be one-hundred percent sure, the figure's soft voice and slim looking figure easily classified it as a ghoul of sorts. "Whoa, does it feel good to be outta there! I'm tellin' ya, it's nice be back ladies and freaky lookin' dog! Hi there, how ya doin', what's your name?" the ghoul rambled off as the figure grabbed ahold of its ghostly tail and twirled it around in its fingers before it turned into a microphone.

"Uh, Frankie Stein?" Frankie sounded confused. "And these are my friends Ben Tennyson and Gigi Grant?"

"Frankie Stein!" the ghoul brightened. "Hello, Frankie, nice to have ya on the show!" the ghoul declared as a neon sign materialized out of thin air in a puff of smoke with Frankie's name. "Can we call ya Frank or maybe just Key? Or how about, Frankenstein!?" the figure laughed as it snapped its fingers and was morphed into a look alike of Frankie's father, complete with a box-like head, massive arms, crackling bolts, and a heavy brow that gave him an unintelligent look.

Wildmutt snarled angrily as he made a few hand gestures before giving up and slapping the Omnitrix on his collar, timing out the Omnitrix and returning Ben to the world. "What I was trying to say is, who are you?" Ben demanded.

"Good question!" the ghoul laughed. "I am the ever impressive . . ." she began, morphing into a bizarre looking version of Arnold Schwarzenegger. " . . . the long-contained . . ." she added, compressing down into a tiny little box. " . . . the often imitated . . ." she continued with a ventriloquest dummy of herself before she suddenly split herself into half a dozen copies. "But never duplicated . . . duplicated . . . duplicated . . . dupliaced . . . Genie of the Lamp!" she roared before shifting into an impression of Ed Sullivan as her clones clapped and cheered loudly. "Right here, direct from the lamp! Right here for your very much wish-fullfillment! Thank you!" she bowed before the clones all disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"But you can call me Whisp." she laughed as she shrank down to their size; Ben was thoroughly confused. While he had never met Whisp herself, he already had trouble telling the difference between her and Gigi! Where one of them had pink, the other had blue and where one of them had blue, the other had pink; it seemed simple in a nutshell, they could be easily confused with the other if one wasn't careful enough.

"What was that all about, Whisp?" Gigi smiled as she hugged her sister tight.

"Oh, it's just something I do; considering I'm an all powerful genie, I thought I might as well sell it for whoever the next Finder is." she shrugged. "Plus, I love seeing the look on their faces when I pop out. It's hilarious." she giggled.

"I'm sure it is." Gigi rolled her eyes, a smile still on her lips. "I'm sure you remember Frankie?" the genie asked her sister, gesturing to the mint green cadaver; Frankie waved a sheepish wave as she set Whisp's lantern back down on the ground.

"Of course I do!" Whisp smiled and waved. "But who's the hot stud?" she asked with a hint of seductery in her voice as she sauntered on over to Ben.

"My name's Ben." he replied with a friendly tone.

"Whisp. If the whole 'Genie of the Lamp' thing wasn't something to go by." Whisp took Ben's hand and gave it a good shake. "Ooh, you got a strong grip there." she noted with a smirk.

"You should see me as Four Arms." Ben laughed. "I've got this watch called the Omnitrix that lets me change into different aliens from my dimension."

"Ah, from a parallel universe I see." Whisp nodded. "Dad did always go on and on about how those existed and what not. Well, the times I got to talk to him that is."

"He also happens to be my boyfriend." Gigi added with a slight blush, coming up to the pair and kissing Ben lightly on the cheek as Ben took hold of her hand and gave it a quick squeeze; unbeknownst to anyone else, Whisp narrowed her eyes at the loving gesture. She had never heard Gigi say anything about her having boyfriend in any of their web chats. Quite frankly, it hurt her that Gigi didn't trust her own sister about her relationships, but then again they had never managed to contact with each other due to the lack of Dijinternet service; it wasn't just that however. Even though she had only known Ben for a few minutes, she already felt as if she had known him for far longer. Was that creepy? Whisp hoped to Sphinx it wasn't.

"We should head back inside," Ben spoke up. "Second period's goin' to start soon."

"That'd be nice." Whisp purred in a warm tone that nobody else seemed to recognize. "Maybe you could show me around sometime?" she asked, sidling up to Ben's arm; Gigi cocked an eyebrow at her sister's odd behavior. She was never really the flirting type, but when one was stuck in a lamp for a couple thousand years and would be lucky to be let out sometime in a single year, a lot of things tended to change.

"Love to, but that's usually Invisibilly's thing." Ben shrugged. "If he's too busy though, I'd be more than happy to give you a tour."

"Sounds great." Whisp smirked. "Could I stop by the Headmistress's office to get my schedule?" she asked innocently.

"Sure." Ben shrugged as they all headed towards the doors.

"I'd love to stick around, but I have to get back to class, guys. I'll see you around!" Frankie waved good-bye as she rushed up the steps ahead of them. "Welcome to Monster High, Whisp!" she called over her shoulder as she ran through the doors.

"Oh, I'm feelin at home already." Whisp said, a plan already starting to form in her head.

* * *

Whisp was quite stunned, to put it in layman terms. She knew that there were annomolies and oddities within the world, but she nevr thought she would have the pleasure of coming across one of them; in her opinion, she had always thought that the Normies were . . . unattractive . . . in most cases. She could deny that some humans were more attractive than others, but in the general sense she found none of them to be very desirable. Not only did she not find them to be enticing or interesting in any aspect, they all seemed to harbor an incredible hatred of anything strange, unusual, or anything related to Monsters; she knew not all Normies were like this, but that seemed to be what almost all Normies thought.

Ben however, was different. Not only did he like Monsters, he embraced them fully with open arms, a big smile on his face, and a watch on his wrist that let him walk in said Monster's shoes allowed him to understand and feel what other Normies could not possibly comprehend. It wasn't just that he had effortlessly worked his way into the Monster community and made himself an invaluable and respected member of it, but he was quite handsome as well; Whisp didn't think it was possible for Normie to look so handsome, and yet Ben seemed to defy everything she thought about Normies. His eyes were as green as jungle moss and his hair was the color of rich, dark chocolate. He build was just right, not too big, not too skinny. And he was kind too, never turning down a cry for help or a plead of need.

He _had_ to be hers, and hers alone.

It seemed by good fortune that Whisp would be sharing a complete, identical schedule to that of her sister and her boyfriend that had captured Whisp's eye; but then again, Bloodgood thought it merely to be a good idea to start the genie out in classes she at least knew several people in before she branched out to other classes of her own desire. This was all well and fine by Whisp's standards, for she could care less about which classes she was in for the moment being. Right now, all she was focused on was catching the eye of Ben; if she could _just_ get him alone for a few minutes to work her charms, then this would all be worth it.

Now, most Monsters would claim that setting a trap that involved dropping a heavy duty coffin on your own sister was both a bit morbid and that one was possibly getting carried away, but Whisp felt differently about that; after all, all's fair in love an' war, even if that meant dropping a heavy object on your sister to steal her boyfriend.

Whisp paused; now that she thought about it, her actions were starting to put her in a negative light. She hoped that Ben wouldn't see it that way, as it would most likely ruin their relationship and any chance of them having an enjoyable time together. Suddenly, she heard Ben and Gigi's voices coming from down the hallway, completely oblivious and unaware of the deadly trap ahead; to put it simply, Whisp would pull the rope at the precise moment necessary, releasing her hold on the giant coffin that hung directly over the hallway and dropping it on Gigi, thus allowing her time to woo Ben and get him away from her sister; what surprised her was how no one noticed or didn't question the ridiculous and dangerous trap she had set up.

Like a predator lying in wait for its prey, she pressed herself down on top of the row of lockers, silently waiting for her quarry to come within range for her to spring her deadly trap. The voices got closer and closer until she could just barely tell that they were practically under her waiting trap; with a triumphant grin, she let go of the rope and waited to hear the satisfying sound of Gigi crying out as she was pounded into the ground. With her sister out of the way, she could teleport herself and Ben away to a more private location where she could seduce him and make him hers; if only her trapped work.

"So, how do you think Whisp is adjusting to Monster High?" she heard Ben ask as he walked past her.

"She seems to be doing just fine. I just hope Toralei's learned her lesson about asking for wishes." she heard Gigi's right alongside him, sounding completely unharmed in any way, shape, or form. Furious, she waited until they were gone from the hallway to see how her trap had possibly failed; the coffin hung still in midair, the rope nice and taunt as if she were still holding it tight and secure before. So why didn't her plan work? A sudden movement caught her eye and she turned to see that the rope holding the coffin in place had finally gone slack, releasing the coffin.

 _ **CRACK!**_

Everything suddenly went black as she was driven into the ground like a stack being struck by a mallet, her skull killing her in the literary sense as her vision swam before her eyes; it wasn't until what felt like excruciating hours later did she feel the weight come off her head and someone take hold of her shoulders.

"Whisp! Whisp, can you hear me!?" a voice rang in her head as she was shaken back and forth slightly.

"Someone get the number on that truck?" she mumbled in response.

"Unless the driver was a skeleton, I don't think you got hit by a car." a deep, masculine voice chuckled as she felt herself lifted up a little ways before being set down on shaky feet; she felt Gigi slide her arm under her shoulder, holding her steady as her vision began to clear enough that she could see Four Arms effortlessly holding the heavy coffin over his head with one pair of muscled arms while the other pair rested on his hips as he stood next to the massive hole in the floor Whisp had created.

"I'm surprised," the Tetramand said. "Most aliens and Monsters your size wouldn't be able to take a blow like that and still stand; trust me when I say it's a hard thing to do." he added sheepishly. "You sure you're going to be okay?"

"Y-yeah. Give me a sec." Whisp nodded shakily as she raised a hand and snapped her fingers, engulfing herself in a puff of dark, blue smoke; when she reemerged, she looked like new, as if she had never suddenly had a gigantic coffin dropped on her head. "There we go. Good as new!" she said brightly.

"Now _that_ is a handy trick." Four Arms grinned as he set the coffin down and leaned it against the wall. "We better get going to Mad Science; if we're one second late, Mr. Hackington's gonna make us come in on Saturday, of all days." he shuddered. Whisp nodded and followed Gigi and the Tetramand down the hall, cursing under her breath as a new plan began to form in her head.

* * *

Whisp shivered as she heard Mr. Hackington's cruel and twisted laughter in her head, echoing in her ears like insane hyena cackling inside of a giant, metal drum; she never knew a teacher could be so cruel, so disgusting, or so egotistical until she met the burly, crazed, and quite smelly man that taught Mad Science and Biteology on daily basis. It should have been a crime for someone like that to even be considered for teaching the next generation of Monsters, and Whisp made a mental note to get even with the callous man that had forced the class to listen to one of his incredibly long stories about his life.

Shaking her head free of such thoughts for the time being, she continued her work, shoveling out yet another shovelful of dirt out onto the carpet; for the past fifteen minutes, she had been digging a large, deep pit in the middle of the hallway that she hoped to Sphinx was deep enough for Ben or Gigi to remain trapped in. Either one was optional, and shivered at the anticipation of catching her prey as she climbed out of the hole, sent the pile of dirt and shovel away in a puff of blue smoke, and grabbed hold of a large tarp that was the same color as the hallway carpeting, effectively making it invisible to the naked eye.

She heard Ben and Gigi approach once more, just like they had before with her failed attempt at crushing Gigi with a heavy duty coffin; once again, she felt a little guilty at the horrid scheme, but when she caught sight of Ben's broad smile and dazzling eyes, she instantly forgot any ill feelings and merely felt eager anticipation as she watched and waited for one of them to fall into her trap.

"Do you think I'll get in trouble for using Pesky Dust on Mr. Hackington, G?" Ben asked his ghoulfriend as they walked down the hallway to the Creepateria; it was getting to be around thirteen, when lunch time rolled around.

"I don't think putting the teacher to sleep after what he put us through will get you detention, babe." Gigi reassured him, blushing at the use of the nickname he gave her; she had yet to find one for him, but Ben had reassured her that he didn't mind, making Gigi want to come up with a cute nickname for her boyfriend even more. "At the very least, I think you would be asked to apologize to Mr. Hackington."

"I guess that's not so bad." Ben shrugged with a sigh as he and Gigi walked right over the hidden pit trap without falling in, as if it had never been there in the first place; this irritated Whisp to no end. "Want to go to that new deli down the street? I'm buying." Ben offered.

"Only if I can bring Twyla and Howleen along." Gigi bargained as she and Ben disappeared down the hall. "Sphinx knows that Twyla needs to get out some more."

"If you think she's up for it, I don't see why not. Just make sure that Howleen cuts back on the beef this time; I was nearly flat out broke last time she came to lunch with us." Ben reminded his ghoulfriend. "And hey, why not bring Hoodude too?"

Whisp was frenetic as she rushed out from around the corner and to her carefully made trap. What happened? Had something already fallen in and replaced the tarp so that her prey would not fall in? Was the tarp simply stiff and strong enough to support Ben and Gigi's weight? The genie then took to walking over the trap herself, cursing under her breath when she so much as feel the tarp waver; she then took a running leap and launched herself into the air, slamming down on top of the tarp and jumping up and down furiously in the attempt to make it collapse. But the tarp remained firm.

"Maybe I need something heavier?" Whisp mused to herself as she snapped her fingers; directly above her head, a second, heavy duty coffin poofed into exsitence in a flash of blue smoke.

"Now I get why Ben hates the universe so much." Whisp whimpered.

 _ **CRACK!**_

Everything suddenly went black as she was driven into the ground struck by a wrecking ball, her skull killing her in the literary sense as her vision swam before her eyes; it wasn't until what felt like incredibly long hours later did she feel the weight come off her head and someone take hold of her shoulders.

"Again, Whisp?" she heard Gigi sigh close to her ear.

"If you ask me, it's just dumb luck." Armodrillo rumbled as he set the coffin down on the ground next to him. "Although I'm having a hard time explaining the giant, gaping hole we're standing in."

"Construction?" the Talpaedan guessed.

"Maybe." Gigi shrugged before returning to her sister. "You need to be more careful, Whisp. Me and Ben aren't always gonna be around to get you out of these situations; you're just lucky that Ben forgot his wallet in his locker."

"The salamanders quit singing!" Whisp giggled deliriously.

"Uh, okay?" Armodrillo blinked as the Omnitrix timed out and engulfed him in a green light, returning Ben to the world. "I wish Whisp's head injury was gone?"

Gigi nodded with a slight smile and let go of her sister long enough to fold her arms across her chest and bob her head downwards, a bright light emanating from her forehead and lighting up the massive pit before it died down; Whisp was now able to stand on her own two legs and it looked like she was no longer seeing show performing amphibians where others could not. "If you're well enough, you wanna get lunch with us?" Gigi offered.

"YES!" Whisp responded perhaps a bit too quickly; Ben shrugged it off as little more than Whisp still feeling a little hallucinatory. Whisp however, saw it as an opportunity to study her prey and learn from her mistakes.

Ben would be hers, even if it killed her.

* * *

Whisp was at her wits end now. It was nearing the end of the day, with the clock just about ready to strike three and release all the students and staff from the imprisonment the school had subjected them to; and in all that time, Whisp never came close to even getting rid of Gigi or capturing Ben. All her traps and schemes never worked, with the same mysterious force preventing them from ever capturing her desired prey.; it seemed no matter which of the two she decided to target, neither plan worked at all.

She was about ready to tear her hair out at her horrible luck; when she attempted to take Gigi out as she rummaged through her locker with a cannon and very heavy cannonball, the blunt armament had bounced off Manny Taur's locker door and right back at Whisp, nailing her in the gut and most likely breaking several ribs; when she tried to launch herself at Ben and tackle him to the ground before making a quick escape with a giant bow, the bow failed to even launch herself at Ben in the first place, only snapping forward when she got off and kicked it, earning herself a nasty, red mark on her ankle that still stung; even when she tried to electrocute her quarry with an invisible, electric fence, Buzzshock had unknowingly shorted it out and electrocuted Whisp in the process.

Her lunch with Ben and Whisp had only made her want him more, with the way he effortlessly talked about Monster subjects with Howleen and Hoodude and had even managed to get Twyla to participate in the conversation for a little bit; and when Ben stuck a pair of straws up his nose and did an impression of Mr. Hackington with a runny nose, Whisp nearly died of laughter, cementing her found love for Ben.

"Gangway!"

Whisp was shaken from her stewing to look up just in time to be nailed and run over by XLR8 as he sped down the hallway down at a lightning pace. "Sorry!" the Kincelearn called over his shoulder as he ran away.

That was the last straw for Whisp; she was going to catch Ben even if it killed her. "Of course, you realize this means war." she snarled to herself before she took off down the hallway after XLR8, slow at first but quickly gaining speed until she was just behind him, his long, whip-like tail just within reach.

"Whoa, Whisp! Nice footwork!" XLR8 grinned when he caught sight of the genie behind him.

"YOU WILL BE MINE!" Whisp screamed.

"Aw, come on! It's bad enough that's what Lagoona says every time she goes through her cycle, but now you!? Gil is gonna kill me harder than he's killed me before!"

"NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST!" Whisp yelled as she snapped her fingers and summoned a live, bolt of lightning between her hands before chucking them at the Kincelearn.

"Whoa, hey! Watch it!" he yelled before he took a quick glance behind him and visibly paled; Whisp now looked like little more than a savage animal, her breaths quick and ragged and her completely bloodshot as she raced after him, hellbent on striking him down and taking him away to a private place where she could woo him and make him hers; he would be hers!

"Any last words, Ben?" Whisp smirked deviously.

"Beep, beep!" XLR8 grinned before he stuck his tongue out at her and stepped on the gas petal, zipping away in a blue and black flash that left Whisp absolutely dumbfounded; but she was not to be deterred, even if her quarry was proving to be difficult to catch with his loony high-jinks. With a grunt, she muscled on ahead, ever slowly catching up to him now that she no longer had sizzling lightning bolts in her hands.

He would be hers. No matter what.

With a loud scream of determination, she put everything she had left in the tank into action, muscling ahead, now catching up to the Kinceleran until she was once more just behind him, his tail just out of reach.

"Just . . . a little . . . more!" Whisp grunted.

"Beep, beep!" XLR8 grinned before effortlessly zipping off down a hallway once more; Whisp screamed in frustration and chased after him at full speed, her eyes locked on the Kinceleran's tail as it whipped back and forth in front of her.

Suddenly, before she could comprehend what had happened, she smashed into something and was flat on her back, her head pounding and throbbing more than it had when she had both coffins dropped onto her; she staggered to her feet with a hand on her head, her vision swimming and blurring before her as she looked at what she had run into. It looked to be like a perfectly normal hallway, with lockers on either side, a large window at its end, and dark, purple carpet down the middle, which was now obscured by a Whisp-shaped dent in it; Whisp had fallen for one of her own tricks, an old, fake hallway she had painted on the wall in the hopes of capturing Ben while he was dazed.

What annoyed her even further was that XLR8 had somehow defied the laws of physics entirely and had actually raced down said fake hallway with smashing in his skull like Whisp had, suddenly reappearing by her side with a satisfied smirk on his face. "Beep, beep!"

"I give up!" Whisp screamed angrily before she collapsed on the floor at the Kinceleran's, balled feet, sobbing and crying as she beat her fists against the floor like a small child having a temper tantrum. "I tried . . . I tried _so_ hard to catch you! I tried so hard! B-but . . . you just . . . HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS!?" she wailed.

"What's going on with Whisp?" Gigi asked as she strolled up to XLR8.

"I have no idea." he shook his head as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world. "She just started chasing me all around the school throwing lightning bolts at me for no reason that I'm aware of. Then she just sorta . . . broke down?" he shrugged, looking at Whisp as she curled up into a fetal position to sob in defeat. "Is this normal?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Gigi shook her head before bending down and lay a hand on her sisters head. "Whisp? What's going on?" she asked tenderly, as if she were speaking to a scared child.

"I . . ." Whisp sniffed. "I wanted Ben. I know this just sounds weird, but the moment I saw him, I fell in love with him."

"I can see why." Gigi allowed a small smile. "But why did you try to hit Ben with lightning bolts?"

"All . . . all of my previous plans never worked." Whisp mumbled weakly.

"Wait, hold up. _You_ tried to drop those coffins on _us_?" Ben gaped open mouthed.

"For some reason they . . . they never worked." Whisp quivered.

"Yeah, I can see that." Ben grimaced. "To be honest, I have no idea why those traps of yours never worked, especially the fake hallway trick."

"Sometimes when genie's emotions get very strong, they affect the world around them," Gigi replied. "Whisp's undying love for you affected her surroundings, allowing for us to escape through her traps unscathed and oblivious while she falls victim to them."

"That sounds horrible." Ben shook his head. "Is she going to be okay?"

"She should be." Gigi nodded when she noticed that Whisp was weakly reaching for Ben's leg, attempting to grab him in her fingers. "Or, not?" she sounded uncertain.

"Is it wrong for me to say that your sister actually is cute? Not to mention fun to hang out with?" ben asked his girlfriend.

"I suppose not." Gigi shrugged. "We are practically identical."

"And is there anything against someone having multiple ghoulfriends or boyfriends?" Ben continued.

Gigi finally understood what her boyfriend was getting at. "It may get some unusual looks, but there's really nothing wrong with; it's common among monsters, most werewolves and vampires, actually."

"I still can't see why those two species just can't get along," Ben shook his head. "The more I learn about them, the more they sound alike. But that's beside the point."

Gigi nodded; Whisp had simply been listening in this whole time, her hopes getting bigger and bigger the more she listened. Could it possibly be there her wish was going to come true? When she put it like that, it almost seemed ironic that she, a genie that granted other Monsters their wishes and their hearts desires, would be granted her own wish; the irony was delicious.

"Whisp? Can you still here us?" Gigi pushed her a little to catch her attention.

Whisp nodded and uncurled herself and climbed up into a sitting position on her knees. "How much do you love Ben?" Gigi asked her sister.

"More than anyone else I've come across." Whisp breathed.

"And how much do you love me?" Gigi asked.

"As much as Ben loves you; my love for you is as endless as the night sky." Whisp declared firmly.

Gigi seemed to be satisfied with the answer as Ben stepped forward, a warm grin on his face. "Then will you be my ghoulfriend, Whisp?" Ben asked; before he knew what had happened, Whisp had tackled him to the ground with her lips planted firmly on his own, squeezing him tightly in a bone crushing hug. Gigi watched with amusement and a slight blush to her pink face as she watched Ben attempt to get use to Whisp cuddling up to him and making out with him, but it seemed impossible for even him to keep up with Whisp's tempo, her lips moving in such a motion that it was almost impossible for him to even even with her. All he could do was simply sit back and let Whisp do her work as she forced her tongue past his lips and into his mouth, easily subduing his own organ and simply enjoying the taste of Ben's lips; she moaned as Ben moved his firm hands up and down her sides, shivering when his hands ran down her back and unknowingly caught on her bra strap for a brief second.

Gigi was then quite shocked when Whisp took hold of Ben's wrists from her back and guided them farther down to her ass where she planted them firm down and forced Ben to squeeze his fingers, moaning even louder as she returned her hands back up to Ben's head where she dug his fingers into his scalp as Ben continued to play around with her ass; Gigi noticed the confused look Ben was giving her and decided Whisp had finally had enough.

"Why!?" Whisp whined as Gigi pulled her sister off of Ben.

"If you _must_ do that kind of stuff with our boyfriend, so it somewhere that's no-" Gig began to scold her identical sibling when Whisp suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her firmly on the lips for a few seconds before releasing her, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Ain't I a stinker?" Whisp cracked as Gigi simply stood there, stunned.

"What did you do to her?" Ben wondered as he climbed to his feet.

"Oh, nothing a little . . . role play can't fix." Whisp grinned seductively as she kissed on Ben on the lips again, though noticeably less rough than before; with both Ben and Gigi immobile for the time being, Whisp snapped her fingers and engulfed the three of them in a puff of dark, blue smoke.

It was time to get frisky.

 **And there we go!**

For those of you unable to guess all of the references here, they were all from none other than _Looney Tunes,_ specifically Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner; along with Bugs Bunny and Daffy, those two were and still are my favorite of the cartoons.

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll!**

As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!

That's all Folks!


	11. The Mummy's Love Curse

_**Hujambo,**_ **ghouls and man-sters.**

 **I see your car broke down on this lonesome country road, a place so remote that no one can hear your screams!**

 **Pretend I didn't say that.**

 **Come in, come in. But be warned! If you enter, you may be subjected to my tales . . . TALES DESIGNED TO SELL MY MERCHANDISE!**

 **Sorry, I was thinking of something funnier I heard before.**

 **As you can probably guess, I have been watching _way_ too much _Gravity Falls._**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . the queen of sinister style herself, Cleo De Nile!**

 **That's right, it's on to the first of the britch ghouls (rich bitches, as they say)!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Egypt.

A beautiful place, if one could get past the searing heat that beat down overhead in an almost relentless pattern, battering the barren sands with scorching sunlight until they were baking. It seemed only a few people were crazy enough to attempt to ekk out a living in the unforgiving landscape, yet one family had not only managed to live, but thrive.

"Aiiieeeeyyaaah?"

"Yes, Ghoulia, I _would_ like my grapes peeled." Cleo replied; the mummy sighed happily as she got more comfy on her soft lounge couch, ladden with the softest silks and pillows the world had to offer. "Fan faster, Toralei. It's getting to be noon, and I can have the heat ruining my hair."

"Yes, your majesty." the were-cat sighed wistfully, increasing the movement of the large fan in her hands; she and Ghoulia wore simple servant garbs consisting of drab, white skirt and thin tops that exposed their midriffs, keeping them cool in the boiling heat of the sun. Cleo however, was dressed up in a far flashier outfit made up of a Nile blue dress trimmed in gold that reached down to her knees, a wide gold, black, and brown collar that sat on her neck and shoulders, a thin, golden crown with a cobra at the head directly above her faint, blue eyes. Sandles sat on her feet, her eyebrows were thin and neatly kept, her hair long and fluid like water, and her nails perfectly manicured; she refused to wear the fake beard Sphinx-like crown that other pharoahs before her had worn. It just wasn't naturally for a woman of any kind to have facial hair, no matter what it was actually made of.

"Ah, this is the life." Cleo sighed happily.

"Eyyyaaah? Aaaiiieeeeeaahhh?" Ghoulia spoke up as she popped a peeled grape into her mistresses mouth.

"Oh, I don't see why not, Ghoulia." Cleo shrugged. "I guess you may have the night off. In fact, I'm giving Slo Mo a break from building my pyramid so you two lovebats can share some time together; in return, I want you to use that brilliant mind of yours to figure out a way to make the work faster or easier."

"Eeyyaiiahh!" Ghoulia smiled gleefully, happily clapping her hands; she would have hugged her mistres right then and there, but Cleo had a strict 'no touching' policy when it came to anyone beneath her social class. "Aaiiieeyyah?"

"Oh, why not? I'm feeling exotic today." Cleo sighed as Ghoulia nodded and to peel a mango.

"Excuse me, your majesty?" Toralei spoke up. "May I have the night off with Roco?"

"I'm afraid not, dear," Cleo said with an apologetic tone that she wasn't entirely sure was necessary. "Your boyfriend is one of the few workers we have strong enough to punch out with the bricks needed with his bare hands; should he be able to double his quota in a day, I might consider it."

"B-but that's impossible!" Toralei sputtered.

"Is it? You should know by now that _nothing_ is impossible." Cleo huffed. "Especially considering that kingdom that just . . . sprung up out of nowhere."

"Eyaaiiah aiieahh?" Ghoulia groaned.

"Yes, Ghoulia, I'm sure it wasn't a mirage. The scout's and soldiers have confirmed it." the pharoah nodded as she sat back with her hands behind her head and put up her feet on a pillow Ghoulia had provided for her. Here she was, queen of her own, prosperous empire, and she wasn't even an adult yet; her father had passed away when a pod of angry hippos had tipped over and destroyed his royal ship on his last voyage down the Nile, becoming devoured by crocodiles as the crew were helpless to save him. Her older sister Nefera would have taken over the throne then had she not been married off to a prince from Rome, thus leaving Cleo to assume control of Egypt almost flawlessly. The only issue she had was that she hadn't found a husband yet.

While she found it reasonably uncomfortable for a ghoul of any species to be married while she was still in her teens, despite being over five thousand years old, it was an Egyptian tradition that had been passed down since the first days of the wealthy empire; and as much as she hated to admit it, some of her subjects were starting to question her rule, no matter how successful the empire became.

"Your majesty!"

Cleo cracked open an eye and grumbled to herself as she sat up into a sitting position, swinging her feet over the edge of the couch and stretching herself as Toralei continued to fan her after receiving a quick look from the Egyptian queen. "Yes, what is it, General Deuce?" Cleo yawned; the male Gorgon sported a pair of blood red sunglasses with black shade to keep his powers under control while he wore a silver chest plate traced in gold with a curved, golden cobra on the front and a white shendyt with a leather belt around his waist and sandles on his feet as the green snakes that made up his hair hissed and bowed as Deuce approached Cleo, enjoying the warm sun's rays.

"We have gotten a request of an audience with you," Deuce reported. "He claims to be from that new kingdom we scouted out a few months ago."

"About time." Cleo mused to herself; ever since the kingdom that appeared, there had been no word of any kind from the new empire, and this worried the queen. "Very well. Bring him to me."

"Yes, your majesty." Deuce saluted before leaving the queen alone.

"You two," Cleo snapped her fingers. "To the throne room. You may resume fanning me once we arrive, Toralei."

"Yes, your majesty." Toralei sighed, thankful she at least was able to give her arms a break.

The throne room itself was a massive structure, with half a dozen thick pillars on either side of the path leading up to the throne holding up the roof; a red carpet with elegant, golden designs and patterns ran all the way to the throne tiself with over two dozen Anubis guards positioning themselves on either side of it and the throne evenly, their expressions never wavering from stern and emotionless as their beloved queen sat on her throne with a regal air while Toralei fanned her and Ghoulia fed her grapes every now and then,

Cleo waited there, confused as to why no commoner from the visiting kingdom had appeared yet to announce who was coming; this frightened her a bit, and she noticed her guards tighening their grips on their spears as someone finally did come into the throne room. What caught Cleo off guard was that it seemed to actually be a high ranking official, or maybe even the pharoah himself! The figure was tall, just a few inches taller than her well physiced guards, and seemed to be entirely composed of bandages. He looked to be of good health, with a strong chest and arms with fairly powerful legs. A black shendyt trimmed in gold was around his waist; it must have been of the highest quality, considering the figure's position. Black braces with thin, green stripes sat on the figure's ankles and forearms, with a wide, black and green collar around the figure's neck and shoulders, similar to Cleo's. A black headdress with green stripes and gold trimming obscured most of the figure's face, only allowing two bright, green eyes and a fake beard that may have actually been real to be seen; a golden crown with a rearing cobra sat on the headdress, and a pair of long bandages sprouted from the shoulders, drapping down behind the high ranking official like a cape of sorts as his long toes and fingers scrapped against the floor as he shuffled along.

While Cleo found his appearance confusing, yet not unlikeable in anyway, she found it far more confusing why this high ranking official, this pharoah wasn't being carried on the backs of strong and loyal servants? Why was he walking? And . . . was that one of _her_ workers by his side.

"Your majesty." the figure bowed low to the ground as the worker she recognized to be Roco stood there awkwardly.

"Rise." Cleo ordered as Ghoulia popped a grape into her mouth. "And who might I owe the honor of meeting?"

"I am known by many, many names, but you call me Pharoah Snare-oh, Snare-oh, or simply Ben Tennyson. Whicever her majesty prefers." the figure replied as he rose back up to his feet.

"Are you serious?" Cleo raised an eyebrow. "Meeting a pharoah from a recently born empire whose name rhytmes with his position is a new one for me, I'll admit."

The pharoah did not seem bothered by this in the slightest by this. "Yes, it does seem rather odd, does it not?"

Cleo nodded. "While we are on the subject of 'odd', will please tell me why you have one of my best and hardest workers here in my palace and not at the quarry, hammering out new bricks with his bare fists?"

"Because," Snare-oh began. "While on my way here, I stopped to admire your glorious kingdom; you've done a wonderful job with the place, by the way." he added to Cleo; for some reason, mummy found this compliment endearing in some way and turned a light red as Snare-oh continued. "I then came across a brilliantly constructed pyramid and noticed that one of your workers looked less happy than any of the others hard at work. Upon asking for his name and the reason why he was so upset, I offered to help him complete his task so that he may enjoy an evening with the ghoul he so greatly loves."

Toralei brightened immediately at this and looked to her mistress for permission. "Oh, very well. You two may go." Cleo sighed. "I'm cool enough anyways." she waved her servant off as she thanked her and dashed down to her boyfriend, hugging him tightly and kissing him on the cheek before thanking Snare-oh himself with a deep bow; the pharoah told her she needn't bow to him and told them to go on their way after handing them a small pouch of gold coins to enjoy the evening with.

Cleo was taken aback by this gesture; a pharoah that didn't demand to be bowed to, who selflessly gave away riches and money without a single thought, refused to use servants, _and_ helped out with labor? Just who was this strange Monster? "Ghoulia? Go and gather Slow Mo from the quarry and take the night off; me and Snare-oh have some things to talk about."

"Please, allow me, dear ghoul." Snare-oh held up a hand to stop Ghoulia in her tracks; Cleo watched with a shocked expression as Snare-oh took his other hand slapped it agains the green belt around his waist that Cleo hadn't noticed before, his hand hitting against a disk with a sharp, green hourglass image on it against a black background, swallowing himself in a sudden flash of green light. Ben's fingers hardened into a sharpened blades as a long, whip-like tail sprouted out from the base of his spine, stretching out a couple of feet as his toes ripped out of his shoes and melted into four claws, two in front, two in back. The ball of his heel crunched forward, moving under his foot bones and becoming perfectly round and smooth, suddenly separating itself from his foot and being held there by his curved toes. Ben felt his skull stretch back into a sharp point as his legs bent backwards; a pointy, black helmet with a slide down mask materialized on his and a tight, black and green body suit appeared on himself, the strange disk with the sharp hourglass design appearing on his chest, completing the transformation.

Before Cleo could comprehend what had just happened, the dinosaur-like creature zipped forward and snatched Ghoulia up in his sharp clawed grip and dashed out of the throne room in a black and blue blur before the Anubis guards could even attempt to defend their queen.

"Cleo!" Ghoulia screamed as she was taken away.

"Cleo!" the bizarre looking creature yelled.

"CLEO!"

* * *

Cleo awoke with a start, snorting slightly as she jolted up in her seat, wiping away a trail of drool with the back of her hand as she glanced around at her surroundings; it was the crowded interior of a coach bus driven by none other than Mr. Hackington, who was whistling a tune that seemed to have no rhythm or beat but succeeded in getting spit all over the windshield. Across the isle from her was Clawd and Draculaura, the both of them sleeping as the later hung upside down from the luggage compartment overhead. Behind her, Clawdeen and Frankie were whispering over some Monster Beat magazines Frankie had smuggled aboard with her as Manny snored loudly in the seat across from them, Iris resting on his large chest like a pillow.

"I know I'm comfy, Cleo, but you were drooling on my arm and murmuring something about peeled grapes in your sleep." Ben said apolgetically to her.

"I do not drool!" Cleo protested.

"Then what was that you wiped way from those cute lips of yours?" Ben smirked; Cleo gasped and rose to slap her hand across Ben's face as a furious blush crept across her own, before he expertly caught between his fingers. "C'mon, Cleo, you should know by now that you're gonna have to do better than that to catch me off guard." he chuckled as he released his hold on the mummy. Cleo huffed and sat back down in her seat, watching with disdain as Deuce and Rochelle made out a few seats ahead of her; she had made dibs on the Gorgon ever since she laid eyes on him, but did Rochelle care? No! Granted, they had been a couple before Cleo came to Monster High and quickly climbed the social ladder, but still!

After another hour of sitting still and switching between playing on her iCoffin and reading some of the magazines Frankie lent her, she was thoroughly bored and her legs were stiff and killing her; one would think after spending a couple hundred centuries asleep would make her use to confined and dark spaces, the truth was actually the complete opposite. While she wasn't particularly afraid of enclosed spaces, the dark scared the unliving night lights out of her, especially when there was absolutely no source of light whatsoever to calm her nerves a little.

"How long does it take to get to Gloom Beach?" Cleo pouted.

"I think we got another half hour or so." Ben told her.

"Ugh! Monster Mashionals had better be worth it!" Cleo groaned.

"You mean worth seeing Toralei and Nefera's irritated faces when Monster High wins the Spirit Staff for the third year in a row?" Ben smirked; this brightened Cleo's mood significantly at the thought of showing up her annoying sister and her arch rival, who was sitting a few rows down curled up in a cat nap and oblivious to Cleo's devious thoughts.

"I can turn into Pesky Dust and put you back to sleep, if you want." Ben offered.

"Um, no thanks." the mummy shook her head, her face turning a light red; while resting was probably the best choice for the Monster Mashional Fearleading competition, she did not like the idea of Ben probing around through her thoughts or viewing her dreams; she feared what he might say if he got a good look at them.

"Wanna listen to y music then? I've got some songs that you probably never heard of before."

"Oh, why not?" Cleo sighed. "It isn't as if I have anything better to do." she said as she took Ben's green iCoffin and slipped in her pair of Nile blue earbuds, selecting one of Ben's playlists and sitting back to try and enjoy herself.

Before long, they had arrived at Gloom Beach, a series of cabins surounding a large lake that seemed to have a permanent, foggy overcast that blocked out the sun for the majority of the time; Cleo barely noticed that the bus had stopped moving and that Monsters were starting to get off and collect their bags until Ben poked her a couple times to get her attention.

"Cleo? Hey, Cleo!" Ben yelled, trying to get the mummy's attention before an idea popped into his head; he dipped his finger into his mouth and let it soak in the saliva he had gathered he reached out and jammed deep into Cleo's ear, eliciting a terrified scream from her as she dropped Ben's iCoffin and fell to the floor, clutching her head as she tried to get her ear cleaned.

"What the Sphinx was that for!?" Cleo screamed angrily.

"We're here." Ben said simply as he bent down to pick up his iCoffin. "You enjoyed the music that much?"

"Actually, yes." Cleo admitted as she climbed to her feet, still digging her finger into her ear. "I actually really liked that last one."

"Oh, you mean 'Walk like an Egyptian'? I thought you might like that one." Ben grinned as he walked past Cleo and towards the front of the bus; little did he know, he had watched straight into a trap. Before he knew what was happening, Cleo had lunged forward and slapped him across the face just as she smacked his butt and sat back, smirking triumphantly as Ben stumbled and recoiled in shock, his eyes wide with shock and surprise as the Egyptian princess sat there, enjoying the look on his face.

"That," she grinned deviously. "Was for giving me a wet-willy."

"The face slap or the ass slap?" Ben asked, holding his aching face.

"Both." Cleo huffed. "Now I suggest you go find the rest of the casketball team. You'll need all the help you can get to win, unlike us."

* * *

Cleo held still as Ghoulia did her hair to perfection, carefully combing her gold and brown locks to make sure they were straight and fluid like running water, feeling soft and smooth to the touch if one were even lucky enough to get close enough to run their fingers through them; Cleo, of course, restricted this kind of thing, and only Ghoulia had ever managed to feel that touch a couple times as she tended to her friend's looks while Cleo herself carefully painted her nails a bright pink in color.

"Does everyone remember the routine?" Cleo asked as she gently tapped the brush along her nails.

" _Oiu!_ " Rochelle saluted as she stretched her stone limbs and wings; while initially against the idea of the ghoul that had stolen the boy she had loved, Cleo couldn't deny the fact that Rochelle played a very important role within the Fearleading Squad, acting as a firm and unshakable base and as someone to launch when Draculaura was unable to be lifted, her wings allowing her to gain extra height when the ghouls had enough strength to lift her stone body off the ground.

"Yep! And we're almost ready to!" Frankie added as she carefully did her lipstick in a small hand mirror she had brought, her left hand resting on the bed and holding up the reflective surface as she did her makeup with her right hand.

"I dunno about you, but I got a good feelin' about tonight." Clawdeen grinned as she slipped on her socks and tied her shoes.

"Can someone do my makeup?" Draculaura asked. "I'd do it myself, but . . ." she trailed off; vampires were notorious for being unable to see themselves in any kind of reflective surface, be it a mirror or not. Clawdeen nodded and moved over to help her friend, bending over and carefully doing Draculaura's massacre and lipstick as she held still; a heavy knock came from the door.

" _Qu'est-ce?_ Who is it?" Rochelle asked.

"Just your friendly neighborhood Spidermonkey!"

"Come in!" Cleo called over her shoulder.

"Mail call! Ook, ook!" Spidermonkey chattered as the door banged open as Spidermonkey slammed his feet into it and jumped to one of the bunk beds before swinging down to the bottom bunk with several letters and two packages of different sizes in his four hands. "Lets see, one for Frankie, two for Draculaura, one for Ghoulia, one for Clawdeen," the Archnichimp sifted through the letters and handing them off to their respective owners before moving onto the packages. "Package for Rochelle. All the way from Scaris, too! Ooh! Ooh!"

" _Oiu!_ It must be from my parents." Rochelle said happily as she took the box from Spidermonkey and tore through the dull, brown paper to reveal an ordinary, cardboard box taped shut; upon opening it with a quick slice of her stone claws, Rochelle gasped and reached inside before hugging the object to her chest happily.

"What is it?" Frankie asked.

"My chisile." Rochelle replied happily.

"Your what?" Clawdeen stopped applying Draculaura's makeup, confused.

"We gargoyles are not born like other Monsters," Rochelle explained. "Our parents carve their children from a block of stone with great care and attention to detail before we are brought to life with the love from our parent's hearts; we then physically grow for the rest of our livs, but we can only be born by being made." Rochelle finished. "To gargoyle children, a chisel is the equivilant of a teddy bear."

"Aww, that's so cute!" Draculaura smiled. "Kinda?"

"It is not for everyone." Rochelle shrugged.

"Package for Cleo! Ook! Ook!" Spidermonkey screeched handing the box to the mummy before doing a backflip and scampering out the door, hooting at the top of his lungs as he swung away from tree to tree.

"Curious. Doesn't say who it's from." Cleo narrowed her eyes with suspicion as she inspected the package.

"Maybe it's from a secret admirer or something?" Frankie suggested innocently.

"Eyyyaaiiiaahhee." Ghoulia moaned as she finished with Ghoulia's hair and cracked her knuckles and fingers.

"Ghoulia has a point," Cleo nodded. "But Frankie is also right. Might as well see what's inside." the mummy shrugged as Ghoulia face palmed herself and held up a hand, ticking down each finger as a second passed by while Cleo gleefully tore open the package and lifted the flaps off the box just Ghoulia reached zero.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cleo screamed bloody murder as she jumped out of her chair and ran screaming out of the cabin, shoving Rochelle and Draculaura out of her way as a gigantic, hairy tarantula skittered out of the box and hissed loudly; a sudden _twang!_ caught everyone's attention, and they all rushed to the cabin door entrance to see Cleo tumbling down the hill, screaming and yelling at every jump as she was thrown and smashed against seemingly every single rock, log, and tree on the hillside. The ghouls winced as Cleo shot off of a rock ledge like it was a ramp and went flying through the air before landing in one of the taller trees around the camp and crashing down through the branches and limbs until she was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground below, dazed; a large walnut fell out of the tree and cracked Cleo on the head, knocking her out cold.

"What happened!?" Clawd's panicked voice came as he, Deuce, Manny, and Ben came rushing up the hillside upon hearing all the noise.

"Someone sent Cleo a spider!" Frankie exclaimed as Ghoulia came walking out of the cabin with the tartanula in hand, scratching it behind the head as it purred happily; Manny tensed up and flinched upon seeing the gigantic arachnid, but managed to stay put.

"No way! Everyone _knows_ Cleo hates spiders!"Deuce protested.

"Yeah. _Everyone._ " Clawdeen growled as she sniffed the air, the fur on the back of her neck bristling.

"What do you smell?" Ben asked.

"Nothin'. But I found what sent Cleo fallin'." Clawdeen frowned as she bent down and held a limp tripwire in her hand. "Come on. We need to make sure Cleo is okay."

* * *

Cleo groaned in pain as Mr. Hackington finished bandaging Cleo's leg, grumbling obscenities under his breath about careless students and spider-in-the-boxes as he finished up and packed away the first aid kit he had managed to find hidden deep within the recesses of the bus.

"How bad?" Clawdeen asked.

"Lass'll be outta it for a couple o' months at the most. Maybe less." Mr. Hackington shrugged.

"Either way, she's not going to be able to help us compete." Frankie grimaced.

"No! I can and _will_ perform!" Cleo protested as she used the crutches she was given to haul herself to her feet, casting the crutches aside before she attempted to walk on her own and cried out in agony as her leg shrieked with pain; she was about to collapse to the ground when Ben managed to catch her, letting her lean on him until Rochelle was able to return the princess's crutches to her.

"Cleo, you have a broken leg. You aren't going to be able to compete, and that's final." Clawd said firmly.

"But . . . we need Cleo!" Draculaura protested. "Not only is she our captain, but we need Monsters to compete! We'll be disqualified if we don't!"

"But where are you gonna find someone agile enough, light enough, quick enough, strong enough, and actually _willing_ to take Cleo's place?" Manny snorted, his nose ring fluttering under his hot breath as several of the ghouls stole a quick glare at him.

"Eyyyaaaiiieeeahh?" Ghoulia moaned.

"Are you sure he'll go for it?" Frankie bit her lip.

"What? What'd she say?" Ben asked earnestly. "I'm not that fluent enough to understand."

"She said that . . . _you_ would be able to do it." Frankie winced.

Ben was silent for a moment as he processed those words before he finally reacted accordingly. "WHAT!?" he screamed, almost throwing Cleo off of him in his shock; Clawd, Deuce, and Manny were quietly chortling under their breath before Frankie threw them a look so stern, it could have put Medusa to shame. "Why me!?" Ben yelled.

"Have ever seen Manny _try_ to a hand stand?" Clawdeen asked with a deadpanned expression.

"Okay, okay, fair enough. But what about Deuce!?" Ben suggested.

"His glasses could fall off and petrify the crowd." Rochelle replied. "Plus, he is more of the tank than an acrobat."

"Fine. How about Clawd?" Ben pleaded.

"I don't even know the routine." Clawd shook his head.

"Neither do I!" Ben cried.

"True, but you're the lightest out of the four of us, dude. It's gotta be you." Clawd told him sympathetically, though Ben could tell he was trying to hold back tears of laughter. "Plus, I'm sure you'll be able to impress the judges with your Omnitrix skills; I've seen you in action, dude, and you're good."

"That's because I'm trying not to get shot!" Ben protested.

"Please, Ben?" Frankie begged.

"Don't bother, ghouls." Cleo sighed dramatically. "He won't help us. We need someone _braver_ , _stronger_ , more _manly_ than him." she acted, putting emphasis on every word.

"You wound me if you think I'll do it simply to save my ego." Ben grumbled.

"So you'll do it?" Clawdeen smirked.

"Suit me up."

* * *

Cleo nervously bit her lip as she peeked out from behind the curtains, scowling when she saw the Belfry Prep Fearleading squad just finish their routine, each vampire looking like the last; not only was it creepy, but it also seemed to be a show stopper as well, with the crowd going nuts and the Fearleading squad from Granite City High sagging in defeat; their heavy legs and feet worked against, as made obvious by several holes punched through the floor of the stage.

"Up next, Monster High!" the announcer declared loudly; Cleo gulped nervously upon seeing Scary Murphy floating among the audience members, her gaze tightening and her eyes narrowing as she scowled, her cloak billowing back and forth in an invisible wind.

"Alright ghouls and Ben. This is what we've trained months for." Cleo sucked in a deep breath.

"I haven't trained for anything!" Ben protested. "I've been smashing slam dunks for us the past few days! And winning too, I might add."

"Just follow our lead, Ben." Frankie told him. "The routine's not _that_ complicated."

"Oh, who am I kidding!? This was a _horrible_ idea! Cleo screamed with exasperation and defeat.

"That's what I was trying to say, but did anyone listen? NO!" Ben yelled, but no one seemed to have heard him.

"Aw, did Little Miss Fearleader Captain have an accident?" a sweet, mischievous voice purred; Ben and the ghouls turned around to see Toralei slip out of the shadows, a deep smirk on her face as she set her hands on her hips. "It's almost as if, oh, I don't know, someone somehow _knew_ Cleo was scared of spiders and tripped her so that she would injure herself and thus let down the Fearleading squad." she said innocently as Clawdeen and Ben's tempers grew bigger and bigger, their breathing becoming more and more ragged as they flexed their fingers, as if imagining Toralei's throat between them.

"And now it looks like you have no choice but to fail even harder by substituting this pathetic Normie in place of your oh, so precious captain!" Toralei scoffed just before Ben tapped the Omnitrix and slapped the activation button, swallowing himself in a flash of bright, green light as his DNA was warped and twisted into something new. Ben's arms swelled as his veins popped out, alien blood flowing through them as muscles piled themselves on top of each other. His legs became strong and lean as his frame stretched upwards, growing taller and taller until he was a good three feet taller than Frankie. Deep, orange fur began to sprout all over his body as his fingers split and cracked before bloating in size and stretch, a razor sharp claw ripped out of each wrist as his shoulders became massive and broad. Patches of white fur smoothly appeared on his chest, gut, hands, and feet and dark, black stripes ethced themselves across his back and shoulders; a handful of whiskers sprouted from his face as his eyebrow grew longer and pointed. His jaw thrust outwards with a sickening crunching noise as his teeth tore through his gums. The final transformation was the appearance of a green and black luchador outfit and large belt with the Omnitrix in the center.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Toralei Stripe, Daughter of a Were-cat, a fellow feline, and a pain in Cleo De Nile's butt ever since day one of their long journey through the halls of Monster High!" Rath roared. "Rath is gonna tear out every last piece of fur on you and knit it into a fur coat and make you wear it and make you like it!"

"No! Not my fur!" Toralei meowed in distress.

"Satyrian Battering Ram!" Rath yelled as he lowered his head and rushed right at Toralei, smashing his skull into her gut and running her towards the far edge of the stage. The ghouls all rushed after him, Cleo hobbling furiously behind them; while neither of them were very fond of Toralei, it seemed that they all agreed that she did not deserve to be attacked and brutally mauled or injured by a furious Appoplexian.

Kinceleran Crane Kick!" Rath declared loudly as he backed off from a dazed Toralei and assumed a crane stance; the move would have looked funny at first, had the Appoplexian not suddenly struck Toralei across the face with his raised leg and sent her flying out past the curtain on stage. Rath ignored where he was going entirely as Frankie and Clawdeen jumped on him, grabbing his shoulders and trying to hold him back as Draculaura latched onto his leg and Rochelle jumped onto his neck, grabbing his jaw in her stone fingers and pulling back in the hopes of unbalancing him.

"To'kustar Foot Stomp!" Rath roared as he jumped out on stage, taking the curtain with him and enveloping him and the ghouls in it before tearing it off and raising a foot to smash down on Toralei's head, just missing by a few inches as she rolled out of the way and scrambled to her feet as Rath shook the ghouls off of him.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Rochelle Goyle, and Draculaura! You wanna a piece of Rath, you gotta piece! But you all just bit off a piece bigger than your stomach can chew!" Rath yelled as he made the 'come-at-me' gesture with his hands; Frankie and Rochelle at him from one side as Clawdeen and Draculaura rushed at him from the other, jumping all at once just as Rath dropped to the ground as if he were doing a push-up as the ghouls sailed harmlessly overhead and expertly curled into balls as they landed before popping back up and rushing at Rath again.

"Come at Rath! Show Rath whatcha got!" he bellowed as Clawdeen charged at him as Rath rose a fist and thrust it down at her, jamming his fist into the stage as the werewolf ran up his arm, only to be flung right up into the air as she expertly flipped and twirled; Frankie bent down as Draculaura charged and used her back as a springboard, jumping up into the air at Rath's head, only to be struck by his hand sent up into the air with Clawdeen before the both of them came falling back down; by then, Rath had dropped down onto his back to avoid being tackled by Rochelle and Frankie and lashed out with his legs in a spinning motion, juggling all four of the unfortunate ghouls effortlessly as they flipped and rolled and twirled, just trying to avoid landing painfully on the stage.

Cleo watched painfully from the wings; while she was glad that Toralei was thoroughly terrified and would most likely not mess with the Fearleading squad anytime soon, she couldn't help but feel that all hope was lost. The audience had gone completely silent as the music refused to stop playing while Rath and the ghouls fought on stage and Scary Murphy seemed to be caught between utter furry and shock, neither of which was very appealing to Cleo.

"Lemme ask ya somethin' Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Rochelle Goyle, and Draculaura! Do you have any other plan designed to stop me from turning Toralei into a fur coat!?" Rath bellowed.

"No!" Frankie yelled.

"I think I'm gonna hurl!" Draculaura whimpered.

"YAH!" Rath yelled as he reached to his left, groping around for something until he managed to grab hold of a discarded guitar from the previous sing along session. "Then by the power of El Kabong, I call upon the power of Vaxasaurian Guitar Shot! Peace out, yo!" he yelled as he gave a final thrust of his legs and sent the ghouls high up into the air behind he hauled himself to his feet and smashed the guitar against the stage as the ghouls came falling back down, expertly landing on their feet.

"Thank you, Gloom Beach! Good night!" Rath roared to the silent crowd over the shattered remains of the guitar; surprisingly, several audience members started clapping before the crowd exploded into a shower of thunderous applause occasionally interrupted by excited whistles and shouts, something that surprised and made Cleo peek out from her fingers.

"Are they clapping?" Clawdeen wondered, utterly stupefied.

" _Oiu_. It would seem so." Rochelle nodded.

"How did you do that?" Cleo asked Rath as she hobbled out on stage with her crutches.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Cleo De Nile, the most gorgeous and attractive ghoul in Monster High! Rath knows what people like, and what people like is Rath!" the Appoplexian announced loudly as he appealed to the cheers of the audience like a goofball; Cleo rolled her eyes at the gesture, but couldn't help but blush at the words.

"Well, at least they liked us." Frankie shrugged. "Think we'll win?"

"I doubt it. You're more of a circus act." Toralei taunted from off stage.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHH!" Rath roared as he suddenly charged at Toralei, giving her exactly three seconds to react before he sent her flying with one hit all the way to the top of the hill where she began the painful descent back down the summit, meowing with pain as she was thrown against every log and rock within her path before flying off of a rock ledge and landing in a tall oak tree where she remained hook among the branches; slightly injured, bruised, and stuck in a tree, but otherwise fine.

"Rath is the only one that insults people, even if that person is Rath!" the Appoplexian yelled angrily before the Omnitrix timed out in a burst of green light, bringing Ben back into the world.

"Actually, as unorthodox as that was, your performance was well executed, enjoyable to watch, and managed to even show that boys can be good at fearleading, too." Scary Murphy spoke up as she floated up to the stage with a knowing smirk on her face. "No matter how ramshackle it was put together, cupcake." she added to Ben as the Spirit Staff floated up to him in a shimmering light.

"Thanks, but this actually belongs to our captain; I'm just a replacement." Ben grinned as he turned around and handed the trophy to an ecstatic Cleo. "You deserve it more than I do." Ben told her with a smile as she reached out with hands to hold the Spirit Staff close to her chest, quickly losing her balance and falling forward; Ben quickly caught her and held her steady as she rested again him, unable to bend over and retrieve her crutches without falling over.

"Thanks." Cleo sighed with relief.

"It's what I do, your majesty." Ben grinned. "You wanna lift back to the cabin?"

"If it's not too much trouble." Cleo approved; Ben nodded and slipped his hands under her back and legs, being careful to avoid her broken limb as he lifted her off the ground and carried her bridal style off stage, much to the cheers and cat calls of the audience.

"I don't normally give out two thank yous, but . . ." Cleo trailed off when they were a good distance from the stage and hiking through the forest up to the cabin.

"Don't mention it." Ben smiled. "Your beautiful and as smart as they come; I don't see why Monsters do more stuff for you."

"You really think that?" Cleo's eyes widened.

"Would I be saying it if it weren't true?"

"You could be one of those man-sters that just says all that stuff just to get in bed with me." Cleo reminded him with a warning tone.

"Believe me when that was the last thing on my mind," Ben grunted as he began the hike up the actual hill. "As far as I'm concerned, man-sters and ghouls that do that can jump off a cliff for all I care."

"You're just saying that because you're a hero and have to be good." Cleo smirked.

"I swear on my Omnitrix and a cup of coffee that I'm not lying." Ben promised as he made his way to the cabin door and nudged it open with a foot.

"Is that an invitation for a date?" Cleo smirked.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. You'll just have to humor me when we get back." Ben grinned his trademark smile as he set Cleo down on her bunk and then stood up to flex his arms and hands. "See you tomorrow, princess."

Before he could turn around and make his way to the door, Cleo grabbed him by the front of his shirt and brought him down to her level. "Not yet, you won't." she smirked deviously before pressing her lips to his in a warm kiss for the briefest of moments before breaking away, holding Ben there in stunned silence. "Mmm. Not bad."

"I can do better you know." Ben smiled once he had gotten over the shock. He then brushed the back of his fingers against Cleo's cheek and captured her blood red lips in his, holding it there for a few seconds before he began to move them in a steady rhythm, quickly taking control over the commanding mummy; despite her immediate struggle for dominance, Cleo soon found herself unwittingly submitting to him, matching his own rhythm and not forcing him to follow hers as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulling him down on the bed where he slipped his hands around her waist, hugging her close. He was vaguely aware of her large breasts pressing against his strong chest, but that kind of thing was the last thing on his mind as Cleo expertly traced her hands down his neck and firm shoulders, slipping a hand under his chest and massaging his rock hard chest as she pushed against him, forcing the two of them down onto the bed together.

"You're right," Cleo said after they finally broke away for air. "You are good."

"Coming from you, that means the world." Ben grinned. "So are we a thing now or something?"

"I don't see why not. You're just as popular as me; it won't be a disgrace to be seen in public with you." Cleo joked with a taunting smile.

"Is that a shot?" Ben asked huskily.

"Why don't you try and find out?" Cleo teased.

" _Désolé_! I hope we are not interrupting anything." Rochelle apologized, interrupting them from the door way as Clawdeen, Frankie, and Draculaura peeked in with knowing smiles.

"Out! Out! All of you, out! Can't you see I'm having a moment here!?" Cleo yelled.

* * *

Cupid blinked blearily as the images of the crystal ball faded away from her, the crystal ball becoming clear and pure as possible; the young deity yawned and looked at her alarm clock to see that it was already nearly time for her to wake up and go to classes. With a groggy tone, she yawned again and slipped the crystal ball back under her bed and out of sight of prying eyes as she then got back under her covers and snuggled in deep into the pillows, hoping to catch a couple more hours of sleep before she would be rudely awakened and forced to ooze through the day the stature of an exhausted slug.

She sighed to herself as she remembered the past viewings of the crystal ball; it seemed every ghoul, no matter if they were seemingly ancient, required sunlight and compost rather than food and water, or were simply artificial to begin with, they all found happiness in Ben. If only she were so lucky to be able to find someone that cared for her endlessly, but it seemed she was cursed to never fall in love. How sad it was that she, someone whose entire job was to make others fall in love and find their soul mates, could not find her own in the entire world of Ever After. It hadn't bugged her so much back at Monster High, where finding love wasn't exactly a top priority on other Monsters lists, but here in a world of magic and stories, where every single tale seemed to end with a glorious True Love's kiss, it was heart retching.

Cupid sighed again and adjusted her wings under the blankets; hopefully she would feel better after she rested her aching mind.

 **And there we go!**

 **Wow. I have stooped to an all time low in cheesiness right now. But on an unrelated note, I have posted the first chapter of the "We're All Monsters" sequel for those that have not noticed yet. Also, I have finally gotten off my sorry butt and gotten back to work on the Nemetrix predator contest winners after so long; they should be up by the end of today for the winners and those that care.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	12. Law of the Jungle

**_байна үү_ , all you man-sters and ghouls! I have returned yet again to fill your lives full of misery and woe (not really)!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Jane Boolittle!**

 **Yes! One of my favorite characters!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Cupid thanked the lunch ladies before she turned on her heel and made her way across the Castleteria towards a private corner in the back of the Castleteria away from the majority of the crowd; she normally would have been a social butterfly, eating with Apple or Briar, but right now she just wanted some peace and quiet. Once she had reached her seat, she pulled out the crystal ball from within her book bag and set it down on the table in front of her.

She had barely managed to fake her way through the day, claiming she had gotten a bad night's sleep instead of staying up for nearly the entire night watching love stories from alternate dimensions; it had become something of a hobby or favorite past time of hers. Where others watched TV or played video games, she would stare at the crystal ball and watch love unfold back home. She popped a French fry in her mouth and took a sip of her cherry pink soda as she rubbed her hand on the smooth surface and gazed into the crystal surface as images began to swirl and form before her very eyes.

* * *

Jane sucked in a deep breath as she cautiously crept along the roof top of the downtown New Salem area; she crawled on all fours, climbing bare foot on the threshold of an old brick building that had been there since the town's construction. She slowly moved along, gripping the concrete ledge like a chameleon and darted her eyes around to gather in her surroundings. While she couldn't change her color to match her surroundings like a chameleon could, she had fastened tree branches and leaves to her outfit to hide herself, the pouch she had brought with her hanging off her belt limp and lose as she moved.

"I dunno how ya got here, eh!" a gruff voice from below yelled. "But yer goin' back one way or another!"

Assured that she was completely out of sight of her quarry, Jane lowered herself down to the roof top and hugged it tight with her legs and thighs as she pulled out her notebook and pencil, opening up to a new page and glancing back and forth between her quarry and the pages.

 _10.02_

 _Subject commonly referred to as Ben Tennyson is locked in another battle for survival with one of his many natural predators. Subject (Tennyus changium) has utilized the device permanently fixed to his wrist commonly called the Omnitrix and turned into another of his forms._

 _The shape seems to bare resemblance to a large primate, possibly related to gorillas or humans, but more likely related to the Sasquatch species. Aside from great strength, the unknown species seems to also posess a unique and rather odd ability among primates: the natural ability to create an electrical charge most likely used to subdue prey or defend itself from natural predators._

 _It is unknown how the beast generates such a high voltage of electricity, but it most likely either has sacrificed extra muscle mass during its evolutionary travel to create electrical charges much like an electric eel does or can produce a static charge of sorts and then release the electricity at its disposal._

 _Subject seems to refer to itself by self given names; current form is classified as 'Shocksquatch', most likely a reference to it's electricity producing ability and its relation to primates of some variety; seems to also speak with a Canadian accent.._

Jane paused from her notes and glanced up from her journal to watch Shocksquatch raise his hands just in time to grab hold his adversary's jaws open wide above him as the two of them were locked in stalemate.

"Struggle all you want, Tennyson! You're no match for my new pet!" a madman with sickly yellow skin, a mane of white hair, sharp teeth, and an insane look in his eyes behind his red tinted goggles; he wore a pair of rubber gloves, a green lab coat, and a pair of strange looking anteanne jammed into the glass dome that encase his brain. The mad doctor's 'pet' could have been a harmless earthworm at one point, but now it was as long as a subway and just as big around with heavy, armored plating riddled with sharp spikes instead of squishy slime. Three large pincers acted as the mutant worm's jaws with thousands of dagger-like teeth running all the way down it's throat and gullet.

"That's what they all say, eh!" Shocksquatch grunted. "But then they get quite a shock!" he quipped as a loud, electrical buzzing noise filled the air, the Gimlinopithecus's fur standing on end as electricity coursed over his arms and legs and through the worm's body; a loud screech echoed painfully through the air as the massive invertabrate howled in agony and thrashed about wildly, slamming its head into the pavement and burrowing down through the ground with Dr. Animo on it's back.

"Oh, ya wanna play 'Whack-a-Worm', eh?" the Gimlinopithecus grunted as he grabbed hold of a street lamp and effortlessly tore it out of the ground. "My favorite game!" he growled as the ground trembled around him and the mutant worm erupted forth from the road, screeching loudly as it quickly retreated back underground to avoid a strike of Shocksquatch's lamp post; the ground rumbled and cracked directly behind Shocksquatch again and the worm sprang forth, burrowing back under the ground before the Gimlinopithecus could get in a good shot.

"Hold still, eh!" Shocksquatch yelled as he raised the street lamp over his head, waited a few seconds, and then slammed it down onto the ground just as the worm shot forth, earning a direct strike from the Gimlinopithecus as a loud beeping noise caught its attention and engulfed Shocksquatch in a flash of green light, returning Ben to the world.

"Aw, man." Ben cursed as he quickly ducked to the ground to avoid a sharp movement of the mutant worm's jaws.

"Hold still, you insufferable, brat!" Dr. Animo demanded as he shook himself free of rocks and spat out a mouthful of dirt. "Hold still so that I can crush you!"

"Now why would I do that?" Ben frowned as he tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before selecting an alien at random and slapping the activation button, swallowing himself in a brilliant, green light as his DNA was warped into something new. The changes began almost instantly as his skin flashed an icy blue, thick scales forming on his morphing body while his back expanded outwards, his shirt ripping along the spine as his skin split into hundreds of interlocking plates that quickly formed a tough, armored shell around his back and chest. His head bulged outwards into a rounded football as his teeth curved out over his lower jaw in sharp fangs. A series of random barbels and growths formed along his chin as his wrists bloated and swelled with muscle and tissue to form feet-like hands tipped with sharp, blue claws; four, shark-like dorsal fins sprouted from the back shell as black markings etched their way across his face as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, completing the transformation.

"Arctiguana? Cool!" the Polar Manzardill grinned toothily. "Literally."

Jane blinked; this was a new one. She quickly returned her attention back to her notes, scribbling furiously across the pages as she made a quick sketch of the Polar Manzardill

 _Subject has now morphed into a new form after a short time out of the Omnitrix, one that I have not seen yet. Dubbed 'Arctiguana', the form seems to have evolved in a polar climate of sorts, most likely an area with an excess amount of ice, freezing temperatures, and water. Unknown if it is actually related to reptiles in any way, but it bears resemblance to that of a member of the order of Testudines, despite the fact that its name implies that it is related to iguana-like creatures._

 _Regardless of its origins, it seems to posess some of cyrokinetic power; regardless of any outside temperature, it always produces a wisp of vapor, much like one that is produced by a warm-blooded organism on a cold day._

Jane paused in her notes to look up and watch Arctiguana as he opened his jaws and blasted out an icy vapor that instantly froze on contact as he created a ramp of freezing ice to ride upon in a snowboarding fashion to avoid the worm's strikes and attempts to bite him.

 _Due to the instantanious nature of its cyrokinetic abilities, I have theorized that it most likely lives near a coastal area composed of liquid nitrogen, the coldest substance known to human or monster, and store it within its body to freeze any natural predators or prey it should come across; a natural super insulation or at the very least a natural anti-freeze. It is also suspected that they are of an amphibious._

"Hey, Freakimo!" Arctiguana yelled.

"What, what do you want, you insufferable pain in my posterior!?" Dr. Animo snapped angrily. "And it's _Dr._ Animo! _Doctor!_ "

"Freeze!" the Polar Manzardill quipped before blasting another jet of icy vapor at Dr. Animo and his mutant worm, coating the two of them in ice crystals that crept and slithered across their bodies and froze them on the spot, encasing them in a massive block of ice. "How do ya like that, Wacko?"

" _D-Doctor! D-Doctor! Doctordoctordoctordoctor!_ " Animo protested within the block ice, his teeth chattering as Arctiguana smirked.

 _Subject is also prone to making witty yet very bad jokes during a battle with his natural predators._

* * *

Jane carefully peeked out through the slits in the grate on the wall and watched as her quarry strolled down the hallway, absentmindedly whistling to himself as strolled along. She had prepared for such a moment for a long time, gathering information about her quarry's habits and abilities so that her plan would go off without hitch.

For a while now, she had been watching him, longing for his attention. But she knew that he would have to make the first moves in order for her dream to come true; it was how it worked in the animal world after all. Usually the males of a certain species would fight each other for the right to a mate, build extravent structures, or use colorful body language and outlandish appendages to attract a mate, but appearantly this wasn't how monster teenagers worked. It baffled Jane how complicated selecting a proper mate was for monster youth, but appearantly it worked despite how arduous it was.

Appearently it was customary for one to ask the desired mate out on something called a 'date'. At first, she was confused if this meant the Egyptian fruit that Cleo could often being seen having fed to her, but after some research and some quiet observations of an outting between Draculaura and Clawd, this was more clear than it was before. It seemed a 'date' was an event where two or sometimes more monsters left their territories, herds, packs, flocks, and prides to go out into the wilds of New Salem and partake in the eating of foods at eating establishments and watering holes instead of going out to hunt and catch their prey; afterwards, they would sometimes go watch a series of moving pictures called 'movies' where the 'date' couple would sometimes engage in loving and friendly behaviors to show affections for each other or simply go wandering around through the unclaimed wilderness of the town before returning to their respective territories and paternal families.

After several, sometimes a myriad number of these 'dates', monsters could then expect to either go to a higher level of courtship that often involved the touching of sexual organs or indulgence of false sexual intercourse, or finally become life long mates; Jane hadn't made much advancement in the research involving those kind of situations, but she hoped she would be prepared when it came.

All that aside, it was customary for the males of a species to try and catch the attention of desired females, but it seemed around monster teenagers it could work both ways and sometimes with the same gender; Jane had explored this area of teenager behavior as well out of curiosity rather than necessity and found that it wasn't all that unusual for monsters of the same gender to pair up and mate with each other. A wonderful example to this was Robecca Steam and Venus McFlytrap, who had been 'dating' for a couple months now without any sign of internal strife despite the looks they were sometimes given. Jane had yet to witness any pairings between the males of Monster High, but one could never be sure what would happen next; for all Jane knew, Lagoona Blue was secretly 'dating' Frankie Stein while she was 'dating' Jackson Jekyll while he was 'dating' Operetta.

Among the animal kingdom, when it came to the females trying to attract the males, they would often release certain chemicals into the air to let them know they were fertile and ready to mate, show off bright and dazzling colors and patterns, or even going so far as to change their own gender in order to find a mate; she had yet to see if that last one was possible for any of the monster teenagers at Monster High, but she wouldn't be surprised if some of the more amphibious or artifical of the student populace were able to do so.

With a deep sigh, she put a hand to the metal vent and paused for a second, looking back at the dull walls of ducts and vents that had provided her comfort and protection during her days at Monster High; she would be leaving them and her creature friends behind for the first time since the Jungle Boogie dance, a day when she had felt so special and liked and then quickly frightened beyond belief afterwards. Whatzit whimpered and brushed his head up against her hand, wanting one more scratch before she left him and the others behind.

 _Don't sweat it, brah. You got this,_ Perseus reassured her, giving her a thumbs up as his twin tail twitched back and forth.

 _Just be yourself,_ Sir Hootsalot instructed her.

Needles simply dozed off in a heap of sharp needle claws, burlap and cloth skin, button eyes, and velvet nose; Jane rolled her eyes and went over her check list to make sure everything she needed for things to go well was there.

"Hair? Check." she began, making sure her indigo and magenta locks were curled and in wild twists and not greasy.

"Proper garments? Check." she continued, looking over her outfit; it was more revealing than the outfit she normally wore, her skirt and ragged, black pants shorter than they were before so anyone could get a good view of her legs and ass. Appearantly monster males found this attractive.

"Grapefruits? Double check." Jane concluded as she pulled a pair of grapefruit out of her book bag, weighing them in her hands for a few seconds before setting one down and reaching down her shirt to pull open her bra and slip the large fruit inside before repeating the process with the other one; compared to other ghouls such as Cleo De Nile or Gooliope Jellington, she was rather flat chested and unappealing to most. If she wanted catch her quarry's attention, she would have to look bigger than she was before so she would tempting to him.

"Here we go." Jane sucked in a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves and looked out of the vent to make sure that the coast was clear before she pushed the grate open and slid out into the hallway, closing the vent behind her with a metal squeaking as the grapedruits hidden in her bra rubbed awkwardly against her skin. She sucked in another deep breath and began to walk down the hallway in the direction she had seen her target go. When she turned the corner she gulped nervously as her eyes caught sight of all the monsters lining the hallways on either side, ignoring her for the moment as they talked or socialized with one another; Heath could be seen trying to woo Abbey yet again, Robecca and Venus were curently hugging and kissing each other in front of Venus's locker, and Draculaura and Clawdeen were swapping fashion ideas as Frankie skimmed over the designs in Monster Beat magazine and interjected every and then with a clawsome idea she had found; her quarry was at his own locker all the way at the other end of the long hallway.

Jane gulped nervously and began her walk down the seemingly mile-long hallway, already sweating with fear when all attention in the hallway was focused on her; conversations paused and faltered as she walked by, monsters starred, and even Heath had stopped flirting with Abbey to watch.

"Talk about smokin'!" the fire elemental cracked as his head caught fire and he quickly left Abbey behind. "Hey, baby! How ya doin'?"

"Um . . . very well, Heath." Jane answered politely. "Thank you for asking."

"No problem, ghoul." Heath smirked, sidling up to her and putting an arm around her shoulder. "You still single, babe?"

"Y-yes, Heath. Very much so." she replied, panicking when her shoulder suddenly caught fire; she quickly put the flame out and kept moving down the hallway at a much quicker pace now, though this did not deter Heath from following.

"Then how about you and me go out sometime, huh?" he offered her with the best charming grin he could muster, getting a little too close for comfort. "Just you, me, and maybe a movie or something. We can go to my place even if ya want." he added, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Uh . . . well . . . I . ." Jane tried to find the proper words; Heath was making her feel _incredibly_ uncomfortable right now, getting all too close for comfort and in her personal space as he touched in a most troublesome manner. She shivered involuntarily, but Heath took this as a sign of pleasure rather than disgust. It perplexed Jane how Abbey was able to put up him half the time, though she supposed her cold exterior and harsh attitude kept his ego and hands in check.

"You're into the Heathster, aren't ya?" he whispered in her ear, resting his hand on her back and slowly edging it down farther and farther; Jane could see several of the ghouls and more respectable guys making their way towards them, but someone managed to get there first.

"AO! Hothead!" a deep, Boston accent tainted voice yelled. "Keep ya slimy hands off of 'er!"

Before Heath could respond with a comeback, a long, sticky, wet tongue launched from the opposite end of the hallway and stuck right to his face, holding there for a split second before the fire elemental was yanked off his feet and pulled down the hallway, screaming muffled yells as he sped along, only to be slugged in the jaw and sent flying straight into the air where his head crashed into the ceiling and remained firmly stuck; the tongue whipped back into the Incursean's mouth as he let out a loud croak and cracked his knuckles. "You okay, ghoul?" he asked Jane.

"F-fine." she blushed as a green light swept over Bullfrag and brought Ben back out into the world. "Is he okay?" she asked, pointing upwards as Heath fruitlessly tried to pull his head free from the ceiling.

"I think so." Ben shrugged. "He'll probably get suspended or detention at the most, humiliated at the very least. Really, I'd be more worried about what Abbey's gonna do to him." he chuckled as the yeti cursed in Russian under her breath and went to go find a ladder.

"Thanks." Jane said, blushing again.

"No mention it. It's what I do." Ben grinned. "Jane, right?"

"Y-yeah. You're Ben, right?" she replied.

"Guilty as charged." he smiled before he cocked an eyebrow and tapped his chin. "You look . . . different than the other times I've seen you. Course, it was only once or twice." he joked lightly. "Did you get a haircut?"

"Well . . . no . . ." Jane shook her head. "Um, c-can I . . . ask you something?"

Ben cocked an eyebrow again but shrugged. "Sure. Shoot."

Jane gulped and sucked in a deep breath through her nose, trying to calm her jittery nerves when she caught sight of a vent behind and above Ben's head open up to reveal her creature friends watching her, giving her reassuring looks and thumbs up for those of them that had hands; Jane just barely nodded as she summoned her courage and looked Ben straight in the eye. "Will you . . . g-go out with me?" she asked.

"Sure." Ben shrugged. "It's nice to see you coming out of the open. Now I can get to know you better." he smiled.

"Aw, come on!" Heath whined from the ceiling as Abbey came back with a ladder in hand; instead of setting it down and climb up to pull Heath free, Abbey swung it with all her might and struck Heath in the butt, beating him in a fashion very similar to a pinata as she yelled Russian curses and threats while Heath wailed and screamed in pain, begging for mercy as the surrounding students tried to hld back giggles.

"You wanna go now?" Ben asked, taking Jane's hand in his.

"I would like that." she smiled, blushing furiously at the contact as they made their way down the hallway.

"By the way, you can take those grapefruits out of your bra; you look ridiculous." Ben laughed as Jane's face turned a beet red in color as she quickly pulled the two fruits out of her shirt while Ben looked away and tossed them carelessly over her shoulder where they pelted Heath full in the face just as he came crashing down onto the floor.

"Why did you do that anyways? The false boobs and exposed ass thing?" Ben asked as Jane blushed even further, her face feeling as if it were on fire.

"I've . . . been studying monster teenager behavior for some time now," she answered. "It seemed ghouls that had those desired traits were selected by the males to be their mates."

"So you tried to make yourself more appealing to try and catch my attention?" Ben asked as they walked out the front doors of Monster High.

"Y-yes." Jane replied, lowering head in shame. "I thought you wouldn't find me attractive.

"How do you know if you haven't tried?" Ben asked. "I might have found you attract right from the start."

"R-really?"

"Yeah." Ben nodded. "The laws of nature and evolution or whatever don't always apply; there are always exceptions to that rule, and monster teenagers are the exception to pretty much every rule there is; whether guys find one kind of ghoul more attractive than another or even like one gender over the other, it doesn't matter. We're teenagers: defying rules is what we do." Ben joked as he gave Jane's hand a comforting suqeeze; Jane smiled and hugged him warmly, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling her head into his strong chest.

"Love you." Ben smiled, tilting his head down to kiss Jane on the forehead; Jane blushed red and turned her head up and kissed Ben on the cheek, hugging him nice and tight as Ben wrapped his own, strong arms around her, holding her in a warm embrace that she found very comforting, like a child with a favorite stuffed animal.

"I love you, too, Ben" she mumbled happily; Heath's hollow screams echoed out from the within the school as Abbey began a fresh round of slapping him silly.

 **And there we go!**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	13. Cat-tastrophe

_**Bonjour,**_ **all you man-sters and ghouls! I have returned!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner, but popular demand . . . Toralei Stripe!**

 **Now before I begin this, I want to reinforce that the many one-shots that comprise this story take place in alternate dimensions. So far, I have not really taken advantage of this fact until now. I'm pretty sure some, if not all, remember the world Toralei had built within a dream in _We're All Monsters?_ Well, we're about to revisit that place. Or rather, where it all began.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

Toralei Stripe sighed with annoynace as she leaned against her open locker door, carefully filing her nails as she looked herself in the small mirror she had placed inside; once again, her antics had gotten her in trouble, and it was all thanks to nerdy Cleo and her annoying friends. Honestly, couldn't _anyone_ in this school take a joke for once? So what if she had glued Mr. Hackington to the seat of his chair, forcing him to take an early leave to the hospital to try and save his favorite pair of pants as well as what little dignity he had left? The class had thought it was funny, and yet that goody-two shoes Frankie Stein had to tell on her!

And then in Dead Languages, when she had forgotten to study last night in favor of watching her favorite show, _The Walking Normies,_ and had tried to copy Ghoulia Yelps' answers in the hopes of getting a decent grade, the horrid zombie had gone and told Mr. Rotter of her trechery and had gotten her a week's worth of detention in addition to having to dust and organize all of the Mr. Rotter's ancient manuscripts and antiuqe books!

And in Physical Deaducation, when she had placed a stink bomb of rotten gargoyle eggs in the ghouls locker room? Clawdeen had expertly sniffed out her scent and pinned her down as the culprit, earning her double detention in addition to the task of scrubbing and cleaning every last inch of the ghouls locker room to get rid of the revolting smell; Cleo had made sure to rub it while she was at it, smirking like the witch she was, despite being a mummy.

"Honestly, can't anyone talk a joke around here?" the werecat sighed with defeat. She felt alone, cast adrift in a sea of boring monsters that wanted to live boring, old lives without any excitement of any kind! There were her sisters, Meowlody and Purrsephone that she felt some kinmenship to, but they had ditched her at the last second of all her ridiculous pranks to avoid in trouble; Toralei had even caught them talking to Draculaura and Clawdeen behind her back! Growling with frustration, she took the nail file in her hands and broke it in half, tossing the remains in a nearby garbage can before she could get in trouble for littering. Was there no one out there that was just like her?

"Ben Tennyson finally gets out today!" Spectra's excited voice interrupted her thoughts as the jittery ghost phased through the locker next to her while practically shouting the news right in Toralei's ears. "Monster High's most notorious rebel!" she added with elation.

"Wait, are you talkin' about that Normie kid that got sentensed to _three thousand years_ of detention?" Clawdeen cocked an eyebrow in disbelief as she came strolling down the hallway.

"The catacombs use to be his old haunt." Spectra shrugged.

" _My_ catacombs!?" Operetta snarled as she joined the group.

"If _I_ saw Ben Tennyson, I'd be all, ' _EYAH!_ ', ' _KA-POW!_ ', ' _EN GUARDE!_ '" Heath Burns decalred loudly, preforming a series of pathetic and unorthodox fighting styles that were suppose to be impressive before he tripped over his own two feet and landed on his face, much to Manny Taur's embarassment.

"How does a _Normie_ of all things live for three thousand years?" Manny snorted. "For all we know, the kid's already past his due date!"

"I heard they placed some kind of immortal spell or potion on him so he could serve his entire sentence without death to save him." Spectra shivered with anticipation. "I can't wait to interview him!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Spectra?" Frankie worried. "I remember asking some of the teachers about Ben, and they all seemed terrified of him. There this one important detail they kept mentioning, but I can't remember it . . ."

"Shhh!" Operetta hissed, pointing a finger down the hallway. "Here comes Bloodgood." she whispered as the Headmistress came strutting down the corridor with a stern expression on her face as her body carried her head in one hand and a rusty, metal key in the other. Hushed whispers spread through the gathering crowd as Bloodgood stopped in front of a locked, metal door covered in cobwebs and dust with nearly a dozen different chains holding the door shut in place. With a quick movement of her arms, Bloodgood tossed her head back up onto her shoulders and the key into her other hand as she slid it into the lock and turned it.

The chains rattled loudly as they slithered and fell out of the way, the metal door rising upwards to reveal a row of iron bars that sunk deep into the floor; but that wasn't all. More and more doors and barriers slid up or down, left or right, each one looking more battered and damaged than the last, as if something _massive_ and brutally _strong_ had been punching them with all its strength, having nothing to do but sit around and count the years go by; Toralei's interested was reaching its peek as several students gulped and shared nervous looks upon seeing deep, ragged grooves in the heavy doors, like that of gigantic claws or messy, gaping holes where something wet and corrosive had splashed against and eaten away at them. Bloodgood's expression never wavered, but Toralei's sensitive ears could hear her heart beat faster, and if the look Clawdeen was giving Operetta anything to go by, she sensed it to.

Finally, the last was reveal, more broken and battered than the others as it slowly sank into the floor before coughing and sputtering and crumbling into rubble and dust; and the thing was, the door had been a solid stone barrier well over ten thousand, maybe even a hundred thousand years old. At first, nothing moved within the dark bowels of the dungeon-like room, as dead and stale air wavered out into the hallway, sweeping over the crowd in a cloud of dust.

"I saw something!" Spectra cried excitedly as she floated over the crowd of students to get a better view with her iCoffin of the open door; a soft, scrapping sound echoed through the room, like that of footsteps until a dim, green flash of light came from within the darkness, making several of the students flinch.

"There's something that I'm forgetting . . ." Frankie mulled to herself quietly as thick, heavy footsteps shuddered inside of the darkness, shaking the hallway and eliciting several startled screams from the students as the footsteps got louder and closer. "Can't remember what it is though."

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!" a loud and deep voice roared angrily as the door frame was effortlessly bent and pushed into the surrounding walls by a pair of huge, white hands covered in black gloves with a sharp spike thrusting out of the knuckle. The owner of the huge, meaty hands stepped out into the light of the hallway, blinking for a few seconds before unleashing another roar that shattered the very air in front of him, sending the majority of the crowd running away in fear as Cleo and Ghoulia's glasses shattered, hair styles were destroyed, and Heath lost every last shred of clothing on him but his boxers; the rest had been blown away by the sheer voice of the beast's bellow.

"Okay, Ben, time's up. You're free to return to class." Bloodgood glared at the hulking monstrosity before her, never flinching despite her hammering heart; the beast stood well over a couple feet taller than Bloodgood, his muscles rippling under the coat of deep, orange fur that covered his body, white patches marking his stomach and large under bite while dark, black stripes etched their way across his bulky arms and large back and shoulders. He wore a black and green luchador costume over his hulking frame with a massive belt around his waist, sharp claws protruding from his gloves as he flexed his fingers, and a pair of large, spiked shoulder pads and leg braces. "But I'll be watching you." Headless Headmistress Bloodgood tried to say in her bravest voice.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Headmistress Bloodgood, Daughter of the Headless Horseman and Headmistress of this school! You have incarserated Rath for three thousand years, but that doesn't mean Rath is ready to play nice!" he roared in her face before snorting and turning on his heel to storm down the hall, students practically diving to get out of his way. Despite the warnings, Spectra followed after the hulking Appoplexian with iCoffin in hand; Heath fainted at the sheer sight of the delinquent.

"Oh, yeah. He can turn into aliens." Frankie remembered.

"I'm liking him already." Toralei smirked, tapping her chin in thought.

* * *

Ben Tennyson glowered and took a sip of soda with a straw, savoring the taste of fresh, sweet food that had eluded him for so long since his imprisonment; a cheeseburger and stolen sandwich sat on the lunc tray in front of him, the lunch ladies too unnerved to dare give him the usual slop the other students received.

Speaking of other students, they kept at a safe distance, giving him a wide berth and his own table to sit at, despite how crowded the luncroom was now that he had claimed a good portion of it simply by existing. IF any student came too close, they would tense up and freeze, begging not to be hurt when he rolled his eyes to look at them. Although, it seemed one student was getting too close for her own good.

"Hey, Ben!" Spectra smiled brightly as she phased up through the floor and seat next to him, a broad grin across her translucent face and iCoffin clutched in her hands.

"Beat it." Ben snarled; whether it was the scars over his right eye and left lip, black leather jacket covered in rows of silver chains, the black fingerless gloves tipped with spikes on the knuckles, ragged jeans with holes in the knees, or the spiked dog collar around his neck, was up to debate, but the entire Creepateria seemed to flinch and hold their breath when Spectra simply ignored the order and scooted closer to him.

"Can I get an interview for the _Ghostly Gazette_?" Spectra asked politely. "I'm sure other students would love to-"

"I said, beat it!" Ben yelled angrily, turning to glare at the ghost; she flinched and seemed ready to run away, but held her ground fast and recomposed herself, much to everyone's horror.

"She's a dead ghoul." Cleo whispered to Ghoulia; the mummy wore a pair of Nile blue glasses held together by a strip of tape with her gold, brown, and black locks pulled back into a greasy ponytail. Multiple freckles and sits dotted her face as she wore a tight, golden top with bandages across her midriff and a pair of blue pants around her hips with stray bandages around her ankles.

"Ehhhaaaiie." Ghoulia nodded as the two nerds decided to take cover under the table with the majority of Creepateria following suit; Spectra had yet to notice as she summoned what little courage she had left to ask Ben one last question.

"Please? I-I can make you famous!" she promised.

That did it. With a low growl, Ben tapped the Omnitrix on his wrist and slapped the activation button with a fist, swallowing himself in a flash of green light as his genetic code was warped and changed into something new. His arms and legs ground and cracked as the bones ground and shifted, becoming shorter and more rounded as his fingers disappeared and were replaced by five, little claws that acted like his fingers and thumbs. Ben's toes melted into three, flat claws that resembled the small, webbed feet of an amphibian as a small tail curled out from the base of his spine and curled at the end. His face was squashed inward as his nose disappeared and his mouth grew larger to accommodate his crooked teeth; his tongue split into three, slimy tentacles as a pair of spiked shoulder pads appeared on his small shoulders and a black helmet with a single, sharp spike at the center materialzed on his head as the Omnitrix fastened itself to a flat, metal collar around his neck, ending the transformation.

With a grunt, Upchuck opened his wide maw and snapped the three, slimy tongues out past his crooked teeth, snatching Spectra's precious iCoffin from her fingers and slipped it back into his mouth much to Spectra's horror as he vigorous chewed her iCoffin into a thick, gooey paste.

"Wanna talk now?" the Gourmand garggled angrily.

Spectra shook her head with fear, unable to form words.

"Good. Interview over!" he yelled before he spat out the acidic remains of Spectra's iCoffin right back at her, nailing her in the gut and sending her flying across the lunchroom where she landed painfully against the floor, sobbing at the aching feeling in her stomach and the gooey puddle that had once been her phone.

"Who else wants a piece!?" Upchuck roared angrily, whipping out his long tongues and wrapping them around the table in front of him, effortlessly lifting it off of the table in a threatening manner while he caught his falling lunch in his hands; the lunchroom cleared out almost instantaniously, with Heath fainting at the door to the Creepateria. Satisfied he would be left alone, the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world after he set the table back down and sat down to enjoy in lunch in peace.

"That was some show you put on."

With annoyed sigh, Ben turned to see Toralei standing over him, a please smirked on her face. "Do I havbe to trash compact you, too?" he growled.

"Nah." Toralei waved it off in a nonchalant manner. "I just wanna talk, one bad boy to one bad ghoul."

Ben scoffed. "I've heard of you. Gluing Mr. hackington to his chair? Pathetic."

"Oh, really?" Toralei narrowed her eyes. "What did _you_ do to him?"

"Pantsed him in front of the entire school, poured a tank of angry scorpions in the biohazard that is his underpants, tarred and feathered him, and mailed him off to Doombai by the end of the day; didn't return for a week." Ben replied without looking at the werecat; Toralei blinked, cursing herself for not coming up with something like that.

"I will admit however, that gluing him to his chair is funny. Amateur in nature, but definetly funny." Ben nodded.

"Then how do I get better?" Toralei asked; if she wanted to keep her popularity, she would have to learn from the master just to remembered. "Teach me!"

Ben raised an uncertain eyebrow. "Really. You want to learn how to become a true bad ghoul?"

Toralei viciously nodded.

"You sure, toots? There ain't no backing out once you're in." he warned; Toralei nodded figorously. Ben sighed and rolled his eyes, surrendering as he sipped his soda. "Fine. But know that I am not to be held responsible for anything that goes wrong. Nor am I responsible for any unsavory results."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Toralei asked.

"You'll see." Ben smirked. "Class is in session."

* * *

Toralei bit her lip as she peaked around a corner, Ben peeking around the corner just above her, giving the werecat a good look at his features; his strong arms and hands, his firm shoulders and neck, his sharp, green eyes that were closed in slits as he glared down the hallway ahead of them. Toralei couldn't help but feel a little faint at the sight.

"How much longer?" Toralei hissed.

"Patience." Ben whispered. "The bell rings in exactly fourty-one seconds."

"Why are we waiting here anyway?" Toralei rasped.

"Wait for it." Ben bit out with a tone of annoyance. Toralei frowned, but remained patient as the seconds ticked by, quietly drumming her fingers on the corner of the wall they were hiding behind as they waited for class to end. The bell finally rang loud and clear, and the classroom doors banged open, students spilling out into the hallway.

"Give it a few more seconds." Ben whispered. Toralei watched as Frankie and Clawdeen walked down the hallway, talking to each other and completely oblivious to what lied ahead until Frankie tripped on a nearly invisible tripwire lying across the floor and nearly stumbled to the floor, confused as to what had caused her to fall; a sudden shower of glue from overhead came crashing down on the two ghouls, followed by an empty pillowcase that spilled feathers all over them, sticking to the two ghouls in all sorts of places before suddenly being covered by a blast of white powder, ending the prank.

"What was that?" Toralei wondered.

"Glue, feathers, and itching powder." Ben smirked. "And that's just the appetizer; the main course is coming soon."` he chuckled, reaching down and firmly grasping her hand, dragging her down the hallway and away from the scene of chaos behind them.

"Hey! Where are we going?" Toralei frowned, yanking her hand out of his grasp as a scarlet blush crept across her face. "Why are we running away?"

"I thought you of all people would know rule number one about being bad: never get caught." Ben smirked.

"Did do really well on that one before detention, did ya?" Toralei smirked.

"Maybe I let them catch me." Ben wiggled his eyebrows as the two of them ran down the hall, trying to look as if they were simply trying to get to their next class on time.

"You are a horrible lier." Toralei rolled her eyes.

"Babe, I wasn't even trying. I've avoided the fuzz more times than I can count before they finally caught me and threw me into that cell to rot for three thousand years." Ben grinned as they finally came to a stop at the door to the catacombs. "We'll hide in hear 'til the heat dies down." he whispered so as not to draw anymore attention to themselves than they already did; Toralei nodded and followed him down into the dank, dark maze of tunnels and corridors that made up the catacombs that ran beneath the school.

Once they were far enough away from the entrance to the catacombs, Ben activated the Omnitrix and cycled through the aliens available before selecting the one he needed and slapped the activation button, encompassing him in a green burst of light. Deep, orange fur sprouted all over his body, as if a bomb filled with hair had suddenly exploded inside him and forced all of the fur to the surface of his skin; his skull ground and cracked his lower jaw was thrust outwards into a massive under bite, his canine teeth huge and perfect for ripping through flesh while patches of skin grew over his eyes and sent him into a world of darkness as they eventually became no longer useful and wither away, fresh bone replacing the gaping holes that had previously been his eye sockets. His ears melted back into his head, becoming little more than mounds of skin that became useless as a row of slits opened on his thickening neck, forming into gill-like structures. Ben's leg bones cracked and snapped as they were forced into the hind leg structure of a large canine while a patch of sharp, pointed quills formed on his back between his shoulder blades; a thick, spiked, green collar appeared around Ben's neck as the Omnitrix appeared in a flash of green light, completing the transformation.

"EEW!" Toralei recoiled in disgust as a thick line of drool dripped from Wildmutt's jaws. "What is that horrid thing!?"

The Vulpimancer snarled and bellowed at her, raising his hand and sticking up his middle finger at her before turning around and gesturing for Toralei to follow with a jerk of its head; the werecat's face flashed red with embarassment and lust as she followed after Wildmutt while he sniffed the ground, cursing herself for such actions. She followed the Vulpimancer through the tangled halls and corridors of the catacombs, flinching every now and then when something she couldn't detect skittered in the darkness. Eventually, after what seemed like hoours of walking through endless expanses of the stone labyrinth, they came to a dead end, and Toralei suspected that she was being led on a wild goose chase. It wasn't until the Vulpimancer raised a hand and felt along the base of the stone wall in front of them before he pressed a hidden button and stepped back as the door rose upwards, shaking lose a layer of dust and cobwebs; the Omnitrix timed out seconds later and Ben was returned to the world.

"Follow me." was all he said as he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders to loosen them up before stepping forward into the hidden passage with Toralei right behind him. After a few more minutes of walking in dead darkness, Ben pushed aside a curtain of spiderwebs and stepped out into a large cavern, clapping his hands in quick succession; lights flickered on in response to show a well decorated room. On the walls were posters of vehicles, scantily claded ghouls, and a few of Ben's aliens while a section of the room was devoted to a living room theme with a pair of sofas facing a large TV screen. Off to one side of the cavern was a large bed next to a black trunk; another section of the room seemed to be the equivilant to a kitchen, really nothing more than a table with a couple of chairs and a small mini fridge next to a large freezer.

"What is this place?" Toralei wondered, flushing red when she caught sight of a few of the nearly nude ghouls that decorated the walls.

"My crib." Ben simply replied as he jumped over the back of a couch and landed on the comfy cusion, resting his arms on the back of the sofa as he cracked open a can of Monster Cola with a quick squeeze of his hand. "Don't got no parents, so I don't got no place to crash. Found this place after a while of sleepin' on benches or rooftops and moved right in; even that Operetta ghoul doesn't know about this place."

"Where'd you get the furniture?" Toralei wondered.

"Mostly stole it from the creature lounge; bought the bed with my own money doing repairs of cars and stuff; as much as I don't like nerds, Brainstorm and Grey Matter are really good at fixing stuff." Ben replied, belching loudly as he crushed the can against his head and threw it over his shoulder, expertly tossing it into a trash can without looking.

"Nice." Toralei grinned as she sat down on the couch next to Ben. "But why show me this place if it's so secret?"

"You can crash here anytime you like," Ben shrugged. "Either way, you remind me of myself when I first started out here; longing for attention, pathetic at doing so, and full of mischief."

"Hey!" Toralei protested.

"So, what? None of that's true, toots?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Well . . ." Toralei trailed off, only making Ben smirk even deeper.

"Thought so." he grinned.

"So what's your story then? With that watch of yours, you could be ruling the school!" Toralei argued. "Why are you giving that up!?"

Ben shrugged. "Doesn't interest me. I know monsters think I'm scary, but I don't care. Let them be afraid."

"Well, I'm not afraid of you." Toralei glared. "Disgusted a few times, but definetly not afraid." she growled and hissed, baring her claws to further prove her point.

"Good for you." Ben rolled his eyes. "That's what I like about you."

"Exactly! You're nothing but- wait, you _like_ me?" she seemed abrasive of the prospect.

"Sure. Why not?" Ben shrugged. "You're hot and sexy as Hades. Plus, you aren't the slightest bit afraid of me; it's been awhile since I've said anything but insults and threats to other monsters mindless begging and questions." he rolled his eyes.

"So what? Am I a friend or love interest?" Toralei quirked an eyebrow as she gave a deep smirk.

"Depends." Ben said.

"On what?" Toralei asked.

"Two things," Ben replied. "One, how bad do you want to be in charge? Two, how fast can you run?"

* * *

It was exactly five minutes to the final bell when a scream of bloody murder rang through the hallways of Monster High, shattering all the windows, sending every colony of bat or gargoyle flying away in swarms, making every last one of the werewolves howl with agony, and Frankie to accidentally short out the school's electrical system.

"Ha, ha!" Ben crowed as he ran down the hallway, his arms pumping up and down as he fled from the scene. "Did you _see_ the look on her face!?"

"Absolutely priceless!" Toralei cackled. "We are in so much trouble if we get caught!"

"She can't catch what she can't see, now can she?" Ben wiggled his eyebrows again, causing a red blush to creep across Toralei's face as Ben tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before selecting the desired alien and slapping the activaiton button, swallowing himself in a flash of green light and changing his DNA into something new. He felt the skin around his skull slowly vanish as if some flesh eating parasite were slowly digesting the skin and tissue around his head, leaving nothing but a white skull behind that rotated upside down with a sickening cracking noise. His teeth ground and split into sharp daggers as a new, thicker skin covered his face and spread to fluidly cover the rest of his body as his eyes morphed into one; his hands trembled and twitched for a second before exploding into razor-sharp claws that felt like they could slice through someone's soul. Ben's legs wrapped around each other into a sort of ghostly tail as thick, green chains formed around his neck and wrists, the Omnitrix appearing at the center of of his chest, suspended there by three heavy chains while a dozen or so tentacles formed inside of his chest, pushing aside most of his other organs as the majority of them vanished, completely useless.

"Can you catch me?" Ghostfreak taunted in an eerily, child-like voice as he swooped up into the air and did a loopty-loop before dove back down to scoop Toralei up in his arms and carry her farther down the hallway with the sound of thunderous hoof beats chasing them all the way. The Ectonurite flew faster, diving down through the floor and leaving the surface of the school behind just as an infuriated Headless Headmistress Bloodgood came to a screeching halt upon Nightmare, her right hand clenched tightly around the handle of a yardstick as if it were a weapon; her glossy, black hair was frizzling and smoldering slightly as smoke cured off of Nightmare's charred body, fresh flames snorting from her nostrils as she pawed the ground furiously with a hoof.

"I know you're behind this, Tennyson!" Bloodgood roared at the top of her lungs. "Come out and surrender and you'll only spend _half_ of your previous sentence!"

"Well, gee, when you put it like that . . ." a raspy voice chuckled as Ghostfreak and Toralei phased up through the floor in front of them, startling Nightmare; Toralei shivered after she was sure she was solid again. Being invisible, even for a few seconds was unnvering.

"You," Bloodgood snarled, leveling her yardstick at the pair. "Are come with me." she said in a chilling voice.

"Actually, we've got other plans. A proposition, really." Ghostfreak hissed.

"And what could you _possibly_ say or do to make me change my mind about the punishment you _clearly_ deserve?" Bloodgood growled, jamming her yardstick forward as if it were a sharpened sword.

"Oh, nothing much." Toralei shrugged as she reached into the pocket of her pants and produced a couple of photos, a deep smirk on her face while her Ectonurite partner's eye was scrunched up in amusement as Bloodgood lowered her weapon slightly and raised an eyebrow. The werecat produced the photos before the Headmistress, her smirk deepening when Bloodgood's eyes widened with horror.

"Wh-Where d-did you get th-those?" she stammered, her face flushing a deep red in color.

"Funny thing about Merlinisapiens," Ghostfreak tapped the place on his face where his chin would be as the Omnitrix timed out an engulfed him in a flash of green light, bringing Ben back into the world. "They can blend in to any environment and totally undetectable in dim places; like the place these photos were taken . . ."

"I didn't know you could be so raunchy, Ms. Bloodgood." Toralei teased the Headmistress as her face turned dark red.

"I didn't even know you could do that with a horse." Ben added with a satisfied smirk.

"Wh-What do y-you want?" Bloodgood gulped. "I'll do anything you want! _Anything!_ " she begged in a pleading tone as her mascara started to run from sweat and tears.

"We've got something of a puppet government in mind," Ben began. "You remain in power as a figurehead of sorts and we get to do whatever we want; you don't deal any punishments for what we wanna do, and these photos never see the light of day."

"This . . . this is ridiculous!" Bloodgood protested. "The Board of Deaducation . . . there are laws!" she tried to find some foothold of sorts, but it seemed the two monsters had a way around every problem, most of which involved Ben threatening or hurting someone or the photos being posted onto the internet and sent to Spectra for publication; after a few more minutes of desperate debating and arguing, Bloodgood was done.

"Fine! Fine!" Bloodgood surrendered. "Do what you want! Just don't show those pictures!"

"Your secrets safe with us, Bloodgood. Just remember our deal." Toralei warned. "We'll be by to clean up your office in a few minutes. There's something I need to discuss with Ben."

"Y-yes. Of course." Bloodgood sighed with relief as she turned Nightmare around and headed back towards her office, shivering slightly as she tried to look regal and in charge once more for any passerby.

Toralei turned to Ben with a mischievous smirk. "How did you even get these?" Toralei gestured to the phots.

Ben shrugged. "I got bored one night and went to see if there was anything entertaining at Bloodgood's house. Lets just say I got more than I bargained for." he gave a devious smirk.

"You're evil, you know that?"

"So I've been told." Ben smirked. He froze when Toralei edged towards him, wrapping her arms over his shoulders and next and pressing her body to his as her tail swished back and forth with anticipation. "Uh, what's going on, babe?"

"Considering you just made me the queen of the school, you might as well as be rewarded." Toralei whispered in his ear, sending shivers of pleasure down Ben's spine as she took his face in her hands and deeply kissed him full on the lips, her tail curled around the both of them as she did so; Ben frozen there for a split second before he realized what was going on and finally got into the act, wrapping him arms low around Toralei's back and hugging her close as he returned the kiss, surprising himself when Toralei immediately took control and dipped her tongue into his mouth, subduing his own after a few harrowing minutes. To counteract Toralei's power, Ben slipped his hands lower and roughly squeezed the werecat's ass, mentally smirking as she jolted for a second and inadvertently pressed her breasts against his chest.

"Eager are we?" Ben quirked an eyebrow.

"You are evil." Toralei repeated. "But I like that in a man." she purred, nuzzling up against him as he scratched behind the ear.

 **And there we go! Is it wrong that I actually want to write more of Evil Ben and Toralei? Maybe it's just that this takes place in an alternate dimension where I write the rules or something. Is this normal?**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll! Remember, you can vote for a second chapter of a ghoul that has already been written if you want!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	14. The Cat's Pajamas (or lack there of)

_**Bonjour,**_ **everyone! I have returned from my vacation to give you yet another one-shot chapter! And let me just say that the voting session this time was** ** _intense_. It was a dead tie between two ghouls for what seemed forever until it was finally broken!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Purrsephone and Meowlody!**

 **This should be difficult, considering neither twin seems to ever talk.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onwards!**

"Surrender that horrid device, you traitor, or the monster's head comes off!"

Ben gritted his teeth, a grim expression on his face he examined the situation; he was in a dark alleyway in downtown New Salem, just beyond the coffee shop he had just visited with his good friend, Moan'ica Graves. It would have been much more enjoyable outting had they not been interrupted by the mad man that had become Van Hellscream. Ever since Ben arrived through a rift in the dimensional field without a way back, he had joined forces with the New Salem police force with the human/zombie hybrid and cared for her almost like a sister, much like she cared for him as a brother.

And now, she was in the clutches of the most insane man New Salem had known. With a burning hatred for anything that wasn't even remotely human, Van Hellscream was the most frightening Normie who had plagued New Salem to the point where it seemed no one was safe; even his own niece was terrified of him and had moved out of his house and shared an apartment with Ben now as room mates. After months of utter defeat by Ben, Van Hellscream had been driven to insanity to the point where he couldn't sleep or eat healthily until Ben was either dead or behind bars, neither of which had even come close to being accomplished.

"Don't listen . . . to him, Ben!" Moan'ica gasped for breath as Van Hellscream's grip on her throat increased and the gun pointed at her head jammed almost painfully into her skull.

"Wasn't planning on it." Ben grinned as he turned on the Omnitrix and began to cycle through his roster.

"Knew it." Moan'ica grinned as she raised up her left foot before stomping it down on Van Hellscream's foot, driving her heel into his boot as he yelped and relased his hold on the hybrid to hold his throbbing foot; by then, Moan'ica had managed to wriggle free of his grip and Ben had slammed a hand down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a flash of green light. His arms and legs ground and cracked as the bones ground and shifted, becoming shorter and more rounded like his fingers and thumbs. Ben's toes melted into three, flat claws that resembled the small, webbed feet of an amphibian as a small tail sprouted from the base of his spine and curled at the end. His face was squahed inward as his nose disappeared and his mouth grew larger to accommodate his crooked teeth; his tongue split into three, slimy tentacles as the Omnitrix appeared on his stomach, ending the transformation.

"Looks like you bit off more than you could chew." Upchuck smirked as he opened his jaws and lashed out with his three, long tongues at Van Hellscream's feet in the hopes of snagging his feet; the monster hunter instead jumped back out of the way, and the Gourmand's tongues slammed into a couple of trash cans. This normally would not have been a desirable choice for most species, but Upchuck found that it was just what he needed as he grabbed two trash cans with his tongues and stuffed them into his maw, using his little arms to shovel them in as his diamond hard teeth chewed away at the garbage and metal to reduce it to a gooey, green paste.

Moan'ica snarled and lashed out with a fist, slugging Van Hellscream across the face and making him stumble back as he regained his footing and lunged at the hybrid, slamming into her and earning a quick kick to the stomach from her as he pinned her against the wall by the neck, drawing back a fist to punch her in the face. A sudden grunt caught his attention, and he turned just in time to see a massive ball of slime slam into him, burning against his skin as he was thrown back and into the dead ended alley, pinning him there as the slime started to cool and harden.

"Chew on that, punk!" Upchuck belched as Van Hellscream struggled against his bonds.

"Whew. That was close." Moan'ica sighed with relief.

"No kiddin'." the Gourmand chuckled. "Whadda we do with him?" he asked, jerking a thumb at Van Hellscream.

"Take him in to the station and finally get him convicted of every last crime against monsterity." Moan'ica glared at the monster hunter as she produced a pair of handcuffs from her pocket.

"You'll never contain me, you digusting wench!" Van Hellscream spat in her face. "Nothing you monsters do can stop me! You are only prolong th- AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!" he howled as Moan'ica rolled her somewhat lazy eyes and pulled a tazer out of her left breast pocket, and electrocuted him without a care.

"That, was satisfying." Moan'ica smirked as Van Hellscream slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Glad you enjoyed it." Upchuck grinned as he was enveloped in a burst of green light, allowing Ben to return to the world while Moan'ica slapped the cuffs on Van Hellscream's wrists. "Now if you'll excuse, I gotta get going."

"No problem." Moan'ica waved him off. "I'll finish up here and we can finish all the paperwork tomorrow." she said as she started to haul Van Hellscream's lifeless body out of the alley. The two crime fighters bid each other good night, and Ben turned down the street as he quietly hummed to himself on his way to the apartment he shared with Lilith.

He was walking down the sidewalk without a care in the world as the sky started to dim and the street lights began to blink on one after the other when the warm light of the setting sun left them in the night's chilling grasp. Ben wasn't worried though; the last person that tried to mug him was flattened like a pancake by Cannonbolt. This didn't mean he wasn't wary though, as the sound of a glass bottle clattering against the pavement caught his attention. He was met with nothing more than the song of crickets and thus shrugged it off as nothing more than an alley dragon.

It wasn't until he was about to cross the street did he hear a similar sound against his ears. He turned around to see nothing and he starred at the street behind him for the longest time before shrugging it off and turning around to continue his walk, only to find something that wasn't there before him. Or rather, someone.

Standing underneath a street light was a ghoul that seemed to be feline in origin if the long, cat-like tail and whiskers were anything to go by. She had gray fur with white stripes running up her right leg and left arm with black locks that were broken by a strand of white hair with black stripes; she was dressed in a biker theme with the majority of the colors being white, black, crimson, and orange that showed off her slender figure and sharp, golden eyes.

"Hiya, Handsome." the werecat purred as she faked taking notice of him. "Didn't see ya there."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"Probably not." the werecat chuckled as she pushed herself off of the street lamp and sauntered over him, shaking her lips in a seductive manner as she tapped her plump, pink lips. "You're that alien kid, right? The one that fights crime?"

"Do you know another?" Ben joked slightly, not sure where this conversation was going or who this ghoul was. "Is there a point to this, or can I get on my way?' he asked.

"Well, now that you mention it, there is something I could use some help with." the werecat replied innocently. "The name's Purrsephone, by the way.

Ben nodded. "Alright, Purrsephone. What do you need help with?" he asked.

"I seem to be lost." Purrsephone replied. "I'm new to this town and I don't quite know my way around just yet. I don't suppose you know how to get to the Maul?"

Ben nodded. "I do, but the Maul is closed at this hour." he said. "I could give you directions to follow in the morning if you want." he offered.

The ghoul seemed pleased with this. "Oh, would you? That'd be the cat's meow!" he joked with a slight purr as Ben allowed a small smile and patted his pockets for a pen and piece of paper. As he searched, he failed to notice Purrsephone making a few rapid hand gestures up at the roof tops until it was too late; before he could move, he was suddenly enveloped and tackled to the ground by two invisible forces, the wind knocked out of him as he felt ropes tightly bind themselves around him and hold him in place while he was lifted up into the air and rushed along, unable to reach the Omnitrix to help him.

"Whoever you are, you have exactly three seconds to untie me and let me out before I go Humungousaur on your butt!" he threatened to no one in particular.

* * *

It felt like hours had passed before he was finally relieved of the darkness that had plauged him. He blinked for a few seconds before instinctively thrashing about to try and run free before he finally took notice that his wrists were tied behind the back of a chair and his legs were tied to the chair's legs by some rope. Looking around, he found that he was in a dimly lit bedroom of sorts with fluffy, white carpet and dim, purple walls, and a pair of beds on opposite sides of a night stand; one bed had black covers and the other had white sheets, with white pillows and black pillows on their respective beds. While the walls were generally blank, there was a large poster directly in between the beds of Rath standing tall and proud with his chest puffed out and his arms flexed to their maximum to show off his muscles.

"Oooooookay." Ben said to himself. "My guess is that I have been abducted by an obsessed fan of Rath's who got lucky in restraining me." he said quietly. It was then that he noticed movement in the shadows of them room, and he felt his blood run cold when he saw Purrsephone and another werecat come stalking out of the shadows on their hands and knees, a hungry look in their eyes as they approached him; the other werecat was the exact opposite of Purrsephone, with white stripes and hair where Purrsephone had black fur.

"Uh, hi there, ghouls." Ben smiled nervously. "Any particular reason you attacked me, stuffed me into a sack, tied me up, and dragged me into your bedroom?" he asked.

The sisters were silent for a few minutes, watching his fear with amusement in their clever eyes before they finally spoke in eerily calm voices. "He makes it sound as if we've done something horrible." the unnamed sister pouted.

"Well, we did do it without his permission, Meowlody," Purrsephone noted. "I guess that makes us . . . naughty." she grinned.

Ben gulped when he realized that the two werecats had not only monsternapped him, but had switched out their regular attire for something more . . . revealing. Really it was nothing more than some really skimpy bikinis that covered their persons, showing off more of the werecat sisters than Ben desired. "Uh, okay. Gettin' really uncomfortable here." he said nervously.

"Oh, you'll be comfy _real_ soon." Meowlody purred as she made her way around behind Ben's back to the Omnitrix, turning it on and cycling through the available aliens before she found the one that she wanted and pressed the activation button, swallowing Ben in a flash of green light as his DNA was scrambled and twisted into something new. His frame cracked and groaned as he grew upwards by a couple of feet, his skin becoming tough and more resilient as it covered his entire face; he could no longer see anything but light shining through the skin that obscured his eyes before they withered away altogether. His ears moved to the top of his head and grew to a large size, becoming more like flaps on his head rather than small disks. Sharp teeth forced their way out os his gums as sharp claws overtook his fingers while his toes burst out of his shoes. And then, he could suddenly see again. At first, he only saw Meowlody looking at him with antisipation. Then he could see the poster of Rath on the wall, looking bigger and more impressive than ever. Then he could see up, down, left, right, forward, backwards, and all around him until he could see in every possible direction at once as a pair of black and green shorts appeared below a green belt with the Omnitrix on it, completing the transformation.

"This is not a good _look_ for me." Eye Guy grumbled as he towered a couple feet over the pair of stunned werecats.

"I don't think it worked right." Purrsephone remarked.

"You think?" Meowlody snarled as he smacked her sister upside the head before drawing back her fist and punching the Omnitrix on the Opticoid's belt, engulfing him in a flash of bright, green light before he could break free of his bonds. His skeleton crunched and twisted horribly, forcing itself out from beneath Ben's skin and to the surface where it proceeded to melt together into a single casing that covered his entire, leaving only two openings for his eyes to peek out of. A loud snapping sound filled the air as the bone casing split along his back, chest, and joints, becoming segmented on his belly and forming a hard shell on his back. His jaws jutted outwards, his skin fusing with the bone as it became serrated like teeth. Spikes thrust themselves out of his arms, two more horns punching themselves out from either side of his massive jaws; a loud and sickening splitting filled the air as a long, forked, horn-like protrusion thrust out from the top of his skull while his toes fused together into two claws just as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, completing the transformation.

"We got the wrong one again." Purrsephone cursed.

"Sphinx." Meowlody hissed as she smacked her sister upside the head again as she cautiously approached Eatle, wary of the gigantic, insect-like alien's jaws; she eventually managed to get up under his guard and press the Omnitrix on his chest again, a little more lightly this time as a green light encompassed the room once more. His frame shot up about three feet, towering a good four feet over the two eager sisters as every last strand of hair was sucked back into his body, making him completely bald. His skin then dlowly turned a shade of light green as his jaw jutted outwards and his tongue became long and elastic, just barely staying inside of his changing mouth. Before anyone could even see the alien's eyes, a pair of dark sunglasses appeared on his face, discouraging the view as Ben's fingers molded together into three digits while muscles piled themselves onto his arms, chest, and legs. His skin became wet and slimy as his toes melted together into two, long digits while a black bodysuit with green cuff on thw wrists and a green stripe down the middle materialized on him as an airtank of sorts appeared on his back. The Omnitrix appeared on the breathing device, ending the transformation.

"Uh, I dunno what you two ghouls want with mes, but I'm pretty sure dis ain't it." Bullfrag croaked.

"Agh!" Meowlody yelled angrily. "Why isn't this stupid thing working?"

"Maybe you're doing something wrong." Purrsephone suggested. "For all we know, hitting it is a bad idea."

"How can it be a bad idea if he hits it every time and it works properly?" Meowlody frowned as she jerked a thumb back at the Incursean before turning her attention to him. "I don't suppose you would tell us how to turn you into Rath?" she asked kindly, her face blushing a light pink at the mention of the alien's name.

"Depends." Bullfrag ribbited. "Are yous gonna release me if I tells ya?"

"Maybe." Purrsephone purred.

"Then no, I will not tell yas how ta work the Omnitrix." the Incursean said defiently. "And when I get outta dis, yous two are under arrest."

" _If_ you get out." Meowlody corrected.

No, it's only a matta of _when._ " Bullfrag argued. "And how come yer parents haven't heard all dis racket wes makin' already?"

"They're out of town for a couple of days." Purrsephone mewed as she rested her hands on the Incurseans shoulders and walked two of her fingers up to his chest before grabbing his jaw and forcing him to look at her. "Which means we have all the time in the world to have some fun."

"I go first though." Meowlody snarled, slapping her sister's hands away as the Omnitrix beeped and swallowed Ben in a flash of light, returning Ben to the world. "I suppose his human form is handsome enough for now." she shrugged as she sat down on Ben's lap, grinning mischieviously. He paled as the ghoul wrapped her arms around his neck in a slow manner, grabbing hold of his jaw when Ben tried to twist his face away from her.

It was then that he felt a sudden sharp across his stomach, a loud yelp eliciting from him as Purrsephone held a crude whip in her hands and a sly grin across her lips. "Now, now. Be a good boy and let your mistress kiss you." she wagged a finger as if she were scolding a small child.

"What?" Ben said with confusion before Purrsephone whipped him again, lashing him painfully across his stomach again; the wearer of the Omnitrix wisely decided to stay still as Meowlody made herself comfortable on him, turning around and sitting on his lap as she leaned against him.

"Give your mistress a kiss." she ordered.

"Excuse me?" Ben raised an eyebrow before Purrsephone cracked the whip again, this time across his shoulders; Ben yelped and did as he was told, leaning forward to capture Meowlody's lips in his own and remain there as the werecat grabbed his head in her hands, pulling him further against him as she moved her lips in a slow, cuatious rhythm before releasing him. "Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked.

"Look, I'm not sure what's going on Meowlody-" was all Ben got to say before Purrsephone whipped him across the back again.

"You are to refer to us as 'Mistress'." she told him sternly.

"I am not going to-" Ben started to argue before Purrsephone whipped him two more times in quick succession. "Alright, alright!" he yelled.

"Alright, what?" Purrsephone raised her whip again.

"Alright, Mistress." Ben sighed.

"Good boy." Purrsephone grinned; Meowlody smiled and caressed Ben's cheek with the back of her hand before gently pressing her lips to his, holding it there for a few seconds before ever so slowly and haltingly dipped her tongue into his mouth, moaning slightly as she was immediately attacked by Ben's strong tongue and nearly battled into submission before she quickly subdued it with a few lashes. She began to slowly move her hips, grinding her ass against his nether regions and note with glee that something very hard was starting to form between her ass cheeks; before long, she parted away from Ben and let him relax.

"My turn, sister." Purrsephone nodded eagerly.

"Not yet." Meowlody said firmly.

"But-" she started to argue before her sister absentmindedly cupped her large breasts, prompting Purrsephone to look down at her smaller pair and wilt slightly. "Alright." she sighed with defeat.

"Good." Meowlody nodded firmly. "Now lets see if we can't get that little watch of yours to cooperate." she said, turning to Ben to reach behind him and fiddle with the Omnitrix while her breasts dangled in his face, just barely being held back by her bra; Ben growled and lunged forward, attempting to bite the werecat as his chair thumped heavily against the chair.

"Bad boy! Bad boy!" Purrsephone yelled, cracking her whip across his back and shoulders until he stopped struggling; Meowlody approached him again, this time more cuatious than before as she reached behind him to turn on the Omnitrix and select the Appoplexian icon once more, noting with pleasure that Ben did not attempt to bite her again as the green light washed over him and began to change him into something new. The first and most noticeable part of the transformation began when the skin suddenly melted off of Ben's skull, the bare muscle and tissue solidifying and turning into a hard, metallic sheen as his head suddenly separated from his body while a forked, eyebrow-like crest formed above his green eyes. His shoulders pinched upwards, forming large points and then an arch as his head floated between them, held in place by some of magnetic field. His skin turned a durable, metallic black with yellow lines and spots as his fingers together into large pincers while his frame shot upwards until it was about ten feet tall. His feet morphed together into two, large claws, a tingling sensation at the end of his pincers suddenly becoming aware to him as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, completing the transformation.

"I always knew I had a _magnetic_ personality." Lodestar joked; Purrsephone lashed the whip across his back and shoulders, making his head spin around and around on an axis. "what was that for!?" he whined, earning another crack of the whip.

"No more jokes." Purrsephone ordered; the Biosovortian decided to obey.

"Clearly, it's still not working." Meowlody frowned.

"Clearly." Purrsephone agreed.

"What did I say about copying me?" Meowlody snarled.

"Sorry." Purrsephone flinched as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world in a flash of green light. "Shall we continue?"

"Lets." Meowlody grinned as sat back down on Ben's lap, this time facing him as she reached behind the chair and grabbed his wrists, pulling his arms over his head as she grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, blindfolding him as she leaned forward and kissed him again, letting go of him to cup his face in her hands; she felt Ben flinch from a quick crack of the whip under his armpit when he attempted to lower his arms. Satisfied that she was making progress, she forced her tongue through through her lips and into his mouth again, noting that he didn't struggle as she worked him; she began to slide and trace her hands over his well developed chest muscles, shivering with pleasure when her plump breasts and hard nipples brushed past them. She unknowingly began to grind her hips against him as she gently kissed him, moaning loudly as Purrsephone watched.

"Mmmm." Meowlody purred. "So good." she shivered.

"Shall we try the watch again?" Purrsephone asked as Ben remained motionless.

"I don't see why not." Meowlody shrugged as she reached for the Omnitrix above Ben's head and turned it on, cycling through the transformations before selecting the one she wanted and pressing the activation button, swallowing Ben in a burst of green light. His bones and muscles dissolved into a thick soup, coursing through his body as his organs vanished one by one to be replaced by some sort of complex nervous system. He could feel every fiber of his being, every cell in his body separate from each other, becoming lose and uneven; the cells became flexible and slimy, melting down into a puddle of greenish ooze as the watch on his wrist reconfigured into another type of device that buzzed and floated above the ground. After a few seconds, the device buzzed over the puddle of goo and flew upwards, the puddle following it like a magnet as it shapened itself into a crude, humanoid figure with random, feeler-like protrusion sticking out of his arms and neck as two eyes formed on the face and the head dripped down into something that resembled a beak.

Meowlody yelped with surprise as Goop effortlessly freed himself of his bonds, oozing out from the ropes and down onto the floor where he reformed himself in a sudden motion of his body, narrowing his eyes at the two werecats as they shared nervous looks.

"I think we're in trouble." Purrsephone whimpered.

"Ya think?" Meowlody snarled as the Omnitrix timed out and turned the Polymorph back into Ben in a burst of green light, a stern expression across his face as he stole the whip from Purrsephone's grasp and looked at them with a murderous glare.

"On your knees." he ordered.

"You can't-" Meowlody started to protest before Ben cracked the air with the whip; Purrsephone was already on the floor, knowing full well that now was not a time to attempt and try to argue as her sister copied her movements.

"Good ghouls." Ben nodded. "Now lean on the bed," he said, pointing towards the bed with white sheets; Meowlody started to protest again, but a quick glare from Ben silenced her and she followed her sister to the bed where they leaned on the bed with their asses in the air, nervous looks on their faces.

"Now answer me this question: _why_ did you monsternap me?" he growled, cracking his knuckles. "Hoping for a nice makeout session with Rath?"

"Maybe." Meowlody gulped, yelping when she felt the whip crack across her back; her sister held back a grin of slight amusement, choosing to remain still and motionless, lest she aggravate Ben even further. "Alright! Yes!" Meowlody yelled.

"Thought so." Ben nodded. "While I admit that you're both attractive, monsternapping someone just to tell them they like you is _not_ the best way to do it."

"W-We're sorry." Purrsephone gulped, fully expecting to feel the whip crack painfully across her back; when she didn't feel anything, she dared a peek behind her scratching his chin in thought.

"You're Purrsephone, right?" Ben asked. "I'm sorry, but you two are hard to tell apart sometimes." he added as Purrsephone quickly nodded. "Alright. Was it your idea to kidnap me?" he asked.

"N-no." Purrsephone shook her head. "M-Meowlody made me d-do it." she trembled slightly; she could feel her sister boring into her with a sharp glare, and she was just waiting for Ben to crack that whip at her again or turn into an alien and abuse her like she had. After all, if someone had done the same thing to her, she would be just as vengeful, her sister more vengeful than her. While Purrsephone loved her sister like anyone else would, she always felt . . . inferior to her. Despite being twins, Meowlody was already a couple breast sizes bigger than her and she was always insecure about herself, trying to find someway that proved she and her sister could function without the other.

"Oh, she did, did she?" Ben turned to look at the back of Meowlody's head, barely noticing the way the werecat tensed up. "Is this true?" he asked the other sister.

"Y-Yes." Meowlody gulped.

Ben narrowed his eyes as a mischievous sneer crossed his face. "Looks like someone's been a naughty ghoul." he said as he suddenly smacked his hand across Meowlody's waiting ass, eliciting a sudden yelp from her; Purrsephone flinched, fully expecting a spank herself, but it never came. Ben continued to slap Meowlody's ass, the werecat caught half way between whimpering and moaning as her ass started to redden and swell.

"Who's your master now?" Ben scolded her.

Meowlody didn't answer, she just bit her lip in defiance; Ben rolled his eyes and cracked the whip across her ass in response, repeating the question a second time. "Y-You?" Meowlody guessed.

"That sounded like a question." Ben frowned.

"You! You are my master!" Meowlody meowed loudly, not wanting to feel the whip again.

"That's right. _I'm_ your master now." Ben nodded. "Now turn around and give your master a kiss." he ordered; Meowlody eagerly complied and turned around to press her lips to Ben's, fully expecting to effortlessly regain and assume control. She was quite taken aback, startled even, when Ben grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her down to the bed before passionately pressing his lips to hers, jamming his tongue past her fangs and expertly striking all the right points in her mouth to the point where she could do nothing but simply attempt to return Ben's affections as she could, moving her lips to try and match his rhythm while she rubbed her hands up and down his strong arms, moaning as Ben struck down her tongue every time she tried to take control once more.

Purrsephone watched with envy as she felt her face heat up from watching her crush and sister make out on the bed right next to her; she wanted t touch herself and mimic the amount of passion and lust they must have been feeling, but remained frozen for fear of the consequences of disobeying Ben at the moment when he was punishing them. Before long, Ben broke away from Meowlody, leaving her breath as he pushed himself off the bed again and stood, grip on the whip once more. "Who is your master?" he asked.

"Y-You are." Meowlody panted.

"Good ghoul." Ben nodded as he turned to Purrsephone; she flinched underneath his stern gaze, whimpering slightly as his grip on the whip tensed for a moment before going slack as his expression softened. "Something tells me you don't like taking orders from your sister." he said to her.

"N-No, master." Purrsephone shook her head.

"Then why do you let her boss you around?" Ben asked, sitting down on the bed next to her; Meowlody was either oblivious to their conversation or was too overstimulated to care.

"B-Because monsters don't think we can f-function without each other; they think were completely reliant on each other." Purrsephone explained. "And Meowlody always says her plans work and never lets me try any of mine. And . . . she's the older sister."

"So just because she might have been older by five minutes or something, you let her boss you around?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Y-Yes, master." Purrsephone nodded, not daring to move from her position on the bed, just in case it was all a ploy.

"Well, you shouldn't." Ben said. "In fact, I don't know why you're taking orders from me now."

"You have the whip. You deal the punishment. You're our master."

"Master . . ." Meowlody moaned.

"Quiet, you." Ben scolded, cracking the whip across Meowlody's breasts, an action that made her only moan louder as Ben turned to talk back to Purrsephone. "I'm only doing this because you did it to me; poetic justice, if you will. Once this is all over, you'll never see me again."

Purrsephone wilted slightly at those words. "B-But . . . I- we don't want you to go." she said, immediately tensing up, expecting the whip to crack across her back or ass.

"Admittedly, I do want to see you again." Ben said. "Your sister, not so much, but you definetly seem nice."

"Th-Thank you, master." Purrsephone smiled slightly.

Ben gave a sly smile. "Well, if you're gonna continue to talk like that, how about giving your master a kiss, eh?" Purrsephone smiled as well and climbed onto the bed next to Ben, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders and shivering with pleasure as Ben softly touched her lips with his own, slowly moving his lips to match her own speed while he traced the rim of her blood red lips with his tongue before Purrsephone pressed forward and battled Ben's tongue with her own, moaning as they felt each other with their hands before finally kissing. Purrsephone shuddered as Ben rubbed his hands up and down her back, just barely fondling with the edge of her ass while she slipped her hands underneath Ben's shirt to play with his strong muscles. The two fell back on the bed before they finally broke apart as Meowlody hauled herself up and crawled over to the two of them, cuddling up to the right side of his chest as she softly kissed him around the collar bone and neck; Purrsephone purred as she grabbed the hem of Ben's shirt and slipped it off, lightly tracing his strong chest muscles with her tongue.

Meowlody then switched to kissing Ben's cheek before Ben cupped her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips once more, tail swishing back and forth with pleasure as she dipped her tongue into his mouth, immediately being subdued and controlled by Ben as Purrsephone traced her tongue all the way up to Ben's neck, sucking on a small patch of skin before giving him a quick nip and kissing the small wound before cuddling up to him, satisfied; Meowlody released Ben a few seconds later, cuddling up to him in a similar fashion.

"Looks like we're all naughty, huh?" Ben chuckled.

"Stop moving." Meowlody mumbled.

"Yeah, we're just getting comfy!" Purrsephone protested.

"Now, now. Don't forget who your master is." Ben scolded lightly as he sat up and climbed off the bed, leaving the two scantily werecats on the bed as he grabbed his shirt and slipped it back over him, looks of disappointment crossing over the sister's faces. "Well, I must be off; I'll keep in touch, but I've got a room mate who's probably worried sick about me." he said. "Oh, and ghouls?"

"Yes, master?" Purrsephone cocked her head.

" _This_ is how you turn into Rath." Ben grinned as he turned on the Omnitrix and slapped a hand down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a flash of green light. Ben's arms swelled as his veins popped out, alien blood coursing through them as muscles piled themselves on top of each other, increasing his size and considerable bulk while his legs increased in strength and length, stretching his growing frame upwards until he stood a good four feet taller than the two werecats. A deep, orange coat of fur sprouted all over his body as his hands, feet, chest, and neck bleached and turned white while black stripes arched and etched their way across his broadening shoulders; a handful of whiskers sprouted from his face as his jaw crunched forward as his teeth curved over his top lip. His hands became stronger and more powerful as a single, black claw thrust itself out from the back of either hand as a black and green luchador outfit materialized on Ben, completing the transformation when a massive belt appeared around his waist with the Omnitrix at its center.

"Lemme tell ya something Purrsephone and Meowlody, twin sisters of without a specified last name that have a crush on Rath! Rath will see you later and says to call him for a date sometime, despite him not owning an iCoffin after losing his first one in the sewers while chasing Van Hellscream, Slayer and Threat of Monsters Everywhere!" the Appoplexian yelled in a quieter tone than he was normally known for. Without further delay, Rath ran over to the window, thrust it open with little difficulty and jumped out of it to the ground below.

"Peace out, yo!" he yelled as he launched himself into the air and onto the roof of the house across the street, jumping from roof top to roof top back towards the apartment he shared with Lilith.

"I forgot that Rath was so loud." Meowlody remarked.

"Oh, well." Purrsephone shrugged as she sat up on the bed and stretched, grabbing hold of the whip in her hand as a grin crossed her face.

"Uh, Purrsephone? What are you doing?" Meowlody gulped.

"Payback, that's what." the werecat grinned seductively.

 **And there we go!**

 **Whew! That was a long and tough one to write, considering neither of them even seem to talk in the series. Seriously, when was the last time anyone heard them spoke?**

 **Anyways, don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	15. Dragon Heart

_**Kon'nichiwa,**_ **everyone! I have returned with another one-shot to fill your life with misery and woe (even if you go away and never come back)!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Jinafire Long!**

 **[Insert dragon pun right here]**

 **Now before I begin, this one-shot takes place in a dimension where Monster High has not existed yet and everything is rather ancient looking. If you are confused as to what I am talking about, I highly suggest you take a look at a picture drawn by _Master-of-Dreams_ on DeviantArt called _Happy Anniversary, Ben 10 Part 5/Ben Sanjuuni_. Keep in mind that I am not stealing the character and I am borrowing the style and dimension; this Ben will look far different than that Ben.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onward!**

Jinafire snorted with determination, smoke drifting out of her nostrils as she blasted a jet of flame from her lips at the training dummy in front of her before she twirled her long bow around in her fingers and bashed it over the head, reducing it to a pile of smoking burlap and straw; upon stamping the end of her weapon into the dirt and pausing to catch her breath, she bowed low and respectfully to the debris in front of her.

"Well done, _Nǚ'ér_." an ancient, warm voice praised her.

She turned to see her father standing behind her and leaning on his cane with a proud smile; he was ancient, even among the rest of the dragons that inhabited the monster community of Fanghai, and was bald on top of his human-like head as a long, white beard hung down from his chin and face, giving him the wise look he had earned over his many, many years. His head sat on top of a long, serpentine neck and his wrinkled, clawed hands rested on the cane that a golden dragon curled around; a reptilian tail with a plume of faded, white feathers on the trailed behind him, flickering back and forth every few seconds.

"Thank you, father." Jinafire bowed to her father. "Without your training, I-"

She was interrupted by a loud crashing noise from above the training hall that had been carved out under the small house she shared with her seven brothers and father; angry yells and roars of fury could be heard over head as a light coating of dust rained down from the ceiling from a second tremor; the training hall had been carved into the mountain thousands of years of ago and had been used by all manner of monster at one point in time, so Jinafire was not worried about the roof collapsing on her and her father.

"I am sorry, _Nǚ'ér_ , but I must go see what mischief your brothers have managed to get themselves into this time." Suoh apologized as he left the arena behind and made his way up the long flight of steps that led up to the house, the butt of his cane tapping loudly on the stone stairs; once he was out of sight and hearing range Jinafire relaxed, her stiff and rigid figure drooping and wilting as she trudged over to the wall of the arena and grabbed a broom that was leaning against the side before she began to sweep up the remains of the training dummy she had been attacking moments ago.

Jinafire had been taught by her father to be grateful for she had been given and she had followed and obeyed this rule without question or disrespect; she always had a roof over her head and was given clothes to wear and food to eat. She knew that there were less fortunate monsters out there than her, and she grateful that she was so lucky. If there was one thing about her life that she could change though, it would be that she had been either an only child or had been born into a family with less temperamental siblings. She hardly ever got to talk with her father ever since she had been born and had been left to rigorously train and fight for every last scrap of food while her brothers squabbled and fought with one another, continuously pulling away her father's attention from her and leaving her all alone; being the only ghoul in a house full of boys did not help matters either.

"Brothers misbehaving again?"

Jinafire didn't even flinch as she turned around to see a ghostly figure phase up through the ground of the arena and become solid once more, floating in front of her and starring at her with a single, green eye. The figure was a creamy white in color with wavy, black lines traced all over its body; it possessed a ghostly tail in place of legs and its fingers were tipped with sharp claws. It wore four leather straps over its chest and a set of rusted braces on its wrists, arms, neck and waist while sported a pair of shoulder pads on its shoulders; at the center of the straps was a strange, circular device with a sharp, green hourglass figure at its center.

"Hello, Ben." Jinafire smiled. "You have guessed correctly." she added with a bit of dismay; while Jinafire loved her brothers dearly, she couldn't help but feel spite towards them as she was left alone over and over again. But then again, she wouldn't have met her one and only friend, Ben. She had been a little dragon back then, only a couple thousand scales old and crying quietly in her family's garden when he simply came up to her and asked if she wanted to play. At first, she had been skeptical of playing with a Normie, but that had quickly been pushed aside when she found out that he was not only homeless, but an orphan as well; he didn't care though. They quickly became fast friends through the years and Jinafire quickly learned that the young boy posessed a device of sorts that allowed him to change his shape at will for a set amount of time; she suspected that the creatures he turned into were demons, possibly gods even, in a somehwat limited form considering the mazing powers each form posessed.

"Shame." the ghostly figure shook its head before it was engulfed in a flash of bright green light as Ben's form was restored to the world; he was a tall boy with long, dark brown hair pulled back into a short ponytail and had vibrant jade eyes like that of a dragon's. He wore green robes with black trimming and finger-less gloves on both hands as the strange device that Ben had dubbed the ' _Èmó_ _zhàohuàn shī_ ', or 'Demon Summoner' for short. "Your father is a very honorable man. He should not have to waste his vast wisedom on _Báichī_ such as your brothers."

Jinafire smiled as she finished sweeping the remains of the training dummy into a corner. "Is there a reason for your unexpected visit?" she asked.

Ben smiled as well; always to point, Jinafire. "I merely thought you would like to go for a walk or perhaps spar?" he shrugged. "I do not believe your father will miss for the time being; I can hear him yelling at your brothers above us." he added as a faint roar shook the cavern. "Would you like to go?"

Jinafire nodded and smiled. "I would love to. I could use a distraction."

"That is good." he said as he turned to the Demon Summoner and tapped the device to turn it on; a small, green disk suddenly appeared over his wrist and moved slightly as Ben held his fingers down over the device before selecting the transformation he wanted and slammed the the pistol button that popped up, swallowing himself in a flash of green light. His skin began to crawl as it hardened and smoothed into something similar to an exoskeleton, yet not quite at the same time as it turned black as midnight with blue blotches and lighter centers appearing all over him. His fingers became sharper as they turned into claws while his toes trembled and shook before splitting out into a pair of talons as his heel thrust out behind him, forming a third toe with a loud grinding sound. His teeth fused together into two plates that felt like they could bite through the toughest samurai's armor while his eyes widened and bugged out of his skull, flashing a spooky green as three darker dots appeared. Muscles piled themselves up on his chest and arms as his spine arched and forced him to hunch over; an itching sensation came from his back and head as four, large wings ripped out of his back with a sickening noise like that of wet flesh slappig against each other as a pair of antennae burst out of his head. The wings and anteannae flapped for a few seconds before they wrapped around him like a cloak and hood; he could feel a chilling sensation in his core, a feeling that flowed through his veins and arteries that felt as cold as ice as the Demon Summoner appeared around his waist on a leather belt, completing the transformation as a pair of bag, green pants covered him.

"It would seem that it is Icé rén's turn." the Necrofriggian hummed thoughtfully, glancing over himself. "Let us depart, shall we?"

"Lets." Jinafire agreed as Icé rén hopped up onto Jinafire's shoulders and securely hooked his talons around her arms before flapping his wings and taking off towards the ceiling, turning intangible at the last second and allowing him and Jinafire to phase right up through the mountain and house and then out into the open air.

* * *

"It is a great wall, is it not?" Jinafire marveled.

"It will be upon completion." Ben agreed. He leaned back on his hands and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air as he and Jinafire sat along the top of the great wall that was being constructed; all around them, thousands upon millions of workers labored away in the hot sun, oblivious to the two teenagers as they moved gigantic stone blocks around to form the wall they had been commissioned to build. The Emperor of China had commanded that a great wall of immense height and thickness be built around the entire country to protect it from invaders, and the idea had at first seemed utterly ridiculous. But after a good mile of the wall had been completed, it had quickly become the single greatest project of importance, and the surrounding farms were now working twice as hard to produce enough food to feed all the workers.

"How long do you think it will take to complete?" Ben wondered.

"A life time perhaps. Maybe even longer than the Emperor's rule." Jinafire mused as she sat back a little to lie on her back and stare up at the sky before sighing. "To be honest, Ben, I am not quite sure I am feeling alright."

"Why? Are you ill?" Ben asked.

"No," Jinafire shook her head, rolling back and forth on the wall beneath her. "It is just . . . father never has anytime for me anymore. I understand that he is old and needs to rest often in addition to keeping my brothers in check, but . . ."

"You are lonely, no?" Ben guessed; he had hit it right on the head.

"Is it that obvious?" Jinafire sighed, smoke pouring out past her lips; Ben felt his face heat up upon seeing her do that, the way her lips puckered in such a manner. He had grown quite attached to Jinafire over the years and had developed a crush on her during their time together. It fascinated him how independent she was and had become, easily holding her own against her brothers when they trained. Unlike other ghouls and girls he had encountered during his misadventures on the streets and roofs and Fanghai, Jinafire did not merely sit around and look pretty as she fanned herself; instead, she kicked butt and looked pretty as she beat her brothers time and time again. She was as smart as a ghoul came, maybe even smarter and could easily hold her own against Xiè libster in a game of mahjong, occasionally beating him as well. Unfortunately, the street rat had no idea how to tell his friend how he felt about her.

"It is . . . quite noticeable." Ben admitted instead, scooting a little closer to Jinafire. "Perhaps you should tell you father how you feel?"

"He already knows." Jinafire replied. "But there is nothing he can do. My brothers require most, if not all, of his attention, leaving me to essentially take care of myself."

"You do not like being independent?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Far from it, actually." Jinafire said. "I wish to lead my own life how I wish, but I desire some quality time with my father before his time comes; it is not long, I am afraid." she added with a sad tone.

"Why not tell your brothers of your dilemma?" Ben wondered, scooting a little closer.

Jinafire shook her head. "I have tried many times before, they quickly forget about what I am saying and begin arguing with one another once more."

"Perhaps you should seek out more friends?" Ben suggested.

"I'm afraid it will not work," Jinafire shook her head. "I am far too different than any other ghouls out there, and none quite share my interest; you are the only boy who has not treated me with disrespect other than my father and brothers on occasion."

"So you essentially stuck with me?" Ben asked with a slight smile.

"So it would seem." Jinafire smiled back. The two remained silent for a few more minutes, simply enjoying each others company as the workers continued to labor and slave away under the sun before Ben finally spoke.

"Can I ask you something . . . _Fēng?_ " Ben asked.

"There are not many things that you could that would make me believe you were mentally deranged, Ben." Jinafire smiled lightly.

Ben chuckled as he started to sweat; should things go awry and she not share the same feelings, he at least hoped they could still remain friends. Despite his friendly exterior, Ben had been hit by life hard, with the death of is parents and his abandonment on the streets, forcing him to result to small amounts of thievery just to live. He was never caught when he stole the small amounts of food he used for his meals, but he was well known as 'The Deceiving Youth', on account that he sometimes used the Demon Summoner to pull his tasks off. Really, the only thing he had left in the world was either a life with Jinafire or a life in prison.

"I . . ." Ben started before he was suddenly interrupted by a sudden blast of flame just an inch away from his head. He whirled around to see another dragon standing behind him and Jinafire, a perturbed look on his face; he was covered in golden scales and had a long, reptilian tail curling out from the base of his spine with a plume of black fur at the end while golden orbs sat in his eye sockets under his silky red and black hair while a forked tongue flickered in and out over his sharpened fangs.

"I assume you have a reason for nearly burning my face off?" Ben asked as he climbed to his feet; Jinafire followed suit, a curious and worried expression on her face.

"I do, as a matter of fact." the dragon growled. "I demand that you step away from the fair maiden and keep your disgusting Normie presence away from her."

"Do you even know her?" Ben wondered.

"I do not, but I intend to." the dragon replied. "She is just the sort of ghoul I am looking for in a wife."

"Pardon?" Ben and Jinafire said in unison.

"You heard me." the dragon hissed. "I intend to make her my wife-"

"She is only sixteen thousand scales." Ben interrupted.

"Future wife, then." the dragon corrected himself. "I will give you _Yīgè_ chance to return to your work on the wall and to leave me to court the lovely maiden in peace."

"Who even says she wishes to date you?" Ben frowned. "Perhaps I wish to fight for her hand?" he growled, clenchinng his fists tightly as he gritted his teeth.

"A Normie challenging a dragon for the hand of a monster maiden?" the dragon scoffed. "You amuse me, Normie. Perhaps I will employe you as a servant after we have wed."

"It was not a joke." Ben said with a deadpanned expression. "In other words, I am serious. I challenge you for the hand of Jinafire Long, right here and now."

"Ooh, eager for a beat down, are we?" the dragon chuckled. "I suppose I should at least tell you my name, Normie; it will be the last thing you hear before I end your pathetic life."

"Arrogant much?" Ben frowned.

"Perhaps. But then again, where I come from, I have a right to be." the dragon said as he puffed on his claws and shined them against his chest. "My name is Dragoon Flame, the toughest dragon from my village."

"We shall see." Ben growled before he turned to Jinafire. "I apologize, Jinafire. I did not think our outting would lead to such actions." he apologized before he tapped the Demon Summoner and slapped the waiting button, engulfing himself in a flash of green light much to Dragoon's shock and surprise. His skinny figure suddenly swelled as hundreds of muscles piled on top of each other, sending his growing form upwards until he was more than twice as tall as his previous self; his fingers pulsed as thick veins appeared on his arms, sending foreign blood through them as a second pair of eyes appeared above his own as his hair turned a jet black and was pulled back into a short ponytail. A short heard appeared on his chin that ran up to his disappearing earlobes as his jaw jutted outwards with a loud crunching noise. Suddenly, a second pair of smaller arms burst out from under his own, still just fresh muscle and bone as they flexed and clenched their fingers before tough, rust red skin quickly covered them up while Ben's toes melded into two, large claws as a row of small spikes appeared on his head and shoulders. A pair of baggy, black pants appeared on him with tough, leather guards materializing on his thighs and ankles as tough burlap and cloth crisscrossed over his toes and hands as metal braces formed around his wrists; an iron chest plate covered more of his gut and shoulders, ironically exposing most of his chest as large, leather shoulder pads appeared on his top set of arms, completing the transformation as the Demon Summoner appeared on a leather belt around his waist.

"Mahākāla!" the Tetramand announced loudly.

"You . . . you are The Deceiving Youth!" Dragoon yelled, jamming a trembling finger at him, more so out of anger than fear; Jinafire looked between her friend and the dragon that had cockily challenged him for her hand, utterly confused. Her only friend couldn't possibly be a thief, could he? Sure, he could have effortlessly pulled it off, but he never would do that unless absolutely necessary, right?

"You bring dishonor to me and yourself with such accusations!" Mahākāla growled as he cracked all four of his meaty knuckles.

"And you dishonor yourself with such lies!" Dragoon hissed. "You do not deserve the young maiden-" was all he got to say before the Tetramand charged at him and slugged him in the jaw with a large fist, sending him flying down the length of wall where he bounced for a couple of feet before finally coming to a stop with a low groan; by now, the workers on the wall had noticed the battle between Mahākāla and Dragoon on the wall and were shouting and pointing up at them when they realized who the Tetramand really was.

Dragoon groaned as he climbed to his feet and wiped away a stain of blood on his busted lip as he glowered at Mahākāla before taking a running leap and jamming a foot out to strike the Tetramand in the chest, only to be grabbed by the leg and swung around in the air before being slammed into the wall beneath them. Mahākāla then drew back his fists and slammed them into Dragoon's gut, punching him deeper and deeper into the wall with every strike until he was almost a foot down and barely breathing by the time Mahākāla stopped and stood over him with a stern glare.

"Her name is Jinafire." he hissed before turning around to leave.

Jinafire starred at the hole that craddled Dragoon, wincing slightly before cautiously following after her friend, hoping that at the very least he was still alive; the Demon Summoner timed out seconds later as she and Ben now walked back up the great wall, leaving Dragoon and the stunned workers behind as they returned to Jinafire's home.

"You . . . you think you have won?"

Ben and Jinafire whirled around to see Dragoon come crawling out of the crater his body had been driven into, surprised to see that he had barely suffered any sort of exterior injuries despite sounding as if he had just had his chest crushed by one of the hundreds of gigantic stone blocks around the construction site. Without a word, Ben activated the Demon Summoner and slammed the activation button down without looking at what he selected, swallowing himself in a bright flash of green light as he changed and warped into something new. Ben's arms swelled as his veins popped out, foregin blood flowing through them as muscles piled themselves on top of each other; his legs became strong and lean as his frame stretched upwards, growing taller and taller until he was a good four feet taller than Jinafire. Pale, white fur sprouted all over his body as his fingers split and cracked before bloating in size and strength, a razor-sharp claw ripping out of each wrist while his shoulders became massive and broad. Patches of gray fir smoothly appeared on his chest, gut, hands, and feet as dark, black stripes etched themselves across his back and shoulders; a handful of whiskers sprouted from his face as his eyebrows grew longer and pointed. His jaw thrust outwards with a sickening crunching noise as his teeth tore though his gums as a pair of baggy, black pants and leather sandles materialized on his body while a pair of leather straps crossed over his chest attached to a pair of large shoulder pads with the Demon Summer at its center.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', Dragoon Flame, self proclaimed toughest dragon in his village!" the Appoplexian howled. "Bai Claw will tear you limb from limb before reassembling you and then tearing into a million pieces just to bury you in the ground and then dig you up again before putting you back through the entire process!"

"It is said that the white tiger acts as the perfect foe for the dragon." Dragoon growled as he balled up his fists, cracking his knuckles and neck just by clenching and flexxing them. "Let us see if that is true."

Bai Claw merely snarled as a response and rushed at Dragoon as he did the same, both of them pumping their arms madly as they slammed into each other without care; Bai Claw quickly gained the upper hand and grabbed Dragoon by the ankle as he attempted to attack from above and was then swung down onto the wall with a painful _smack!_

" _Xiàng_ anvil drop!" Bai Claw roared as he climbed up onto the side of the great wall and jumped off, thrusting his elbow out to maximize the damage as he dropped painful onto Dragoon's gut, knocking all the air out of him before the Appoplexian climbed off and stomped down on his feet, swinging him upwards to then be slugged in the face by a large fist. "Mongolian chop!" Bai Claw added, swiftly chopping the area between Dragoon's neck and shoulders before he grabbed the poor dragon by the shoulders and slammed him back down onto the wall.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', Dragoon Flame!" Bai Claw snarled. "You have proven to be a resilient, clever, and all around pain in Bai Claw's butt, much to his annoyance!" the Appoplexian growled with reluctance before giving a slight bow as the Demon Summoner timed out in a burst of green light; by now, several soldiers had arrived to see why work on the wall and ceased and to try and obtain The Deceiving Youth.

"Trust me . . . when I say that is an understatement." Dragoon moaned as he staggered to his feet, gritting his teeth at his aching back. "There is a reason I am the toughest dragon back in my village." he grinned wickedly before he suddenly began to shift and change before Ben's very eyes. A loud cracking sound filled the air as Dragoon's bones shifted and ground heavily, lengthening and thickening as they changed; his arms began to swell as his veins bulged and pulsed, new blood forcing its way through them as his hands trembled and shook violently before large claws sprouted from his fingernails and thick scales ran up his arm to the rest of his body. The scales began to cloak him as his frame began to expand, becoming bigger and bigger in size and stature as his head grew bigger. Dragoon's face suddenly expanded outwards into a sharp snout as his teeth ground and grew into dagger-like fangs; his tongue became long and forked as a pair of long, wispy whiskers formed above the jaw while his ears suddenly morphed into a small pair of horns. A loud cracking sound filled the air as a large pair of horns grew from Dragoon's skull, a row of sharp spikes rising up from the vertebrae on his back; a skeletal tail suddenly whipped out from the base of his spine, quickly being wrapped in form muscle and tissye before hard, red scales covered the soft, red tissue, a spade-like growth forming on the very tip of the tail as he was forced down onto his four, changing legs. The most noticeable change however, was the sudden appearance of two pairs of large, bat-like wings that slipped out from his back with a sickening sound and into the bright sun, adding to Dragoon's size as the transformation completed.

"It would seem your eyes are bigger than your stomach, no?" Dragoon smirked a toothy grin as he drummed his claws against the stone wall.

"On the contrary, Dragoon, it would appear as if it is _you_ who has bitten off more than you can chew." Ben smirked as he turned on the Demon Summoner and selected a transformation before slamming a hand down on the device and encompassing himself in a flash of green light. His skeleton crunched and twisted horribly, forcing itself out from beneath Ben's skin and to the surface when it proceeded to melt together into a single casing that covered his entire body, leaving only two openings for his eyes to peek out of. A loud snapping sound filled the air as the bone casing split along his back, chest, and joints, becoming segmented on his belly and forming a shell on his back. His jaws jutted outwards, his skin fusing with the bone as it became serrated like teeth. Spikes thrust themselves out of his arms, two more horns punching themselves out from either side of his massive jaws; a loud and sickening splitting filled the air as a long, twin forked, horn-like protrusion thrust out from the front of his face while his toes fused together into two claws just as the Demon Summoner appeared on a leather belt around his waist with a green loincloth materializing out of thin air, completing the transformation.

"Meet Jiǎchomp, Dragoon." the large, beetle-like creature growled in a high, throaty tone. "This form will be your end." he threatened as he raised up one foot and stopped it down on the wall before doing the same with the other, much like a sumo wrestler; Jinafire watched with awe as Dragoon snarled angrily and drew back his head as he spread his wings wide to make himself more intimidating as he opened his jaws wide and unleashed a jet of flame. Jiǎchomp quickly thrust his claws down and effortlessly tore out chucks of the great wall on either side of him, stuffing them into his over-sized mouth as he rapidly chewed; a ball of vibrant, green energy formed between the two top forks of his horn-like crests and fired off right at Dragoon, colliding with his fire breath and holding it in place in a stalemate.

Jinafire bit her lip, smoke nervously pouring out of her nostrils as her tail flickered back and forth with anticipation; she had to admit that while Dragoon was handsome and well fit, he was rather . . . obnoxious, to it simply. He hadn't bothered to even learn her name and had demanded that she be his wife-to-be seconds after meeting her; and when she was only sixteen thousand scales even! She felt her face warm up, though she figured it wasn't from the extreme heat that was building between Dragoon and Jiǎchomp at the moment. More likely it was that Ben had stood up for her, defended her title, and actually treating her with deep respect, something most ghouls were not lucky enough to receive from a man of all people; Ben admired her skills as a fighter, easily being able to combat against any of his demonic forms, as well as her intelligence and beautiful looks.

She winced as Dragoon increased the magnitude of his flames, edging forward to increase the pressure of the fire against Jiǎchomp until the large, beetle-like creature ran out of gas and was struck full force with the fire, sending him flying back along the wall and leaving a deep gouge in the stone where he flew. Dragoon roared in triumph and blasted Jiǎchomp with another jet of flame as he tried to get up, striking him down once more.

"You are pathetic," Dragoon growled, smoke drifting from his flaring nostrils as he stalked closer; the workers and soldiers on the wall were watching in awe and horror as the dragon and gigantic beetle faced off. "You are unworthy of the hand of the fair maiden, Jinafire." he snarled.

"Well, at you least you remember her name." Jiǎchomp grumbled as he climbed to his feet and spat out a glob of half chewed rock; without warning, the large beetle charged at Dragoon, pumping his arms before he launched himself at the dragon and tightly clamped his jaws onto his wing, tightening his grip as Dragoon roared in pain and tried to shake him.

"How is that even possible!?" Dragoon snarled as he tried to reach Jiǎchomp with his long, serpentine neck; the giant beetle-like creature was just out of reach of his sharp jaws, and any attempt to blast him with red, hot fire was useless against his durable shell. "Nothing can pierce my impenetrable hide!" he growled as he flared all four of his wings and managed to knock Jiǎchomp free with one of his wings.

"Ugh! You taste horrible!" Jiǎchomp spat, wiping off his tongue as the Demon Summoner timed out in a burst of green light, returning Ben to the world at the feet of the massive dragon; Dragoon hissed and examined the bite wound he had suffered, becoming pleasantly surprised when he realized that Jiǎchomp hadn't even managed to cut through his tough scales, merely cause unpleasant pain. Satisfied that his reputation had been upheld, he turned his attention to Ben, giving a low growl only to find the puny, Normie insect turning on the Demon Summoner and slapping the waiting piston, swallowing himself in a flash of green light. Muscles quickly piled themselves onto Ben's arms and chest as his skin began to blister horribly until short, brown feathers crawled up his arms and legs, turning a lighter shade of brown on his chest and stomach; his mouth and nose melted together like tar, hardening into a yellow, horny beak as teeth lined the inside. The feathers continued to cover his body, racing up over his broad back and stomach, growing on nearly every inch of his body while Ben's wrists and ankles began to harden as thick scales appeared on them, his fingers crunching and grinding as they molded together into three digits. His fingers grew longer and bigger, becoming curved, black talons as his toes all formed together into two, long sharp claws while his heel bone ground against his foot and thrust out of the back in a third toe tipped with a sharp talon. A white plume appeared on Ben's head, slicking back like a short ponytail of sorts as a pair of large, sharp blades thrust out of his elbows, glinting in the setting sun. A black ninja outfit suddenly enveloped him, covering him from head to toe and only leaving his sharp, green eyes, wrist blades, and hands and feet exposed as the Demon Summoner formed on a black belt around his waist, completing the transformation.

"Kung-Pow Chicken." Jinafire breathed in surprise; the form before her was by far one of the most difficult she had ever fought against, with the bird-like creature's hand to hand combat skill nearly unmatched. Surely this demon would be able to defeat Dragoon, right?

"You are only making me hungry, insect." Dragoon growled, salivating as he licked his chops.

"Be silent and let the feathers fly." Kung-Pow Chicken snarked; Dragoon narrowed his eyes and opened his jaws once more to fire off another jet of flame from his throat; the man-sized bird effortlessly back flipped to avoid the fire before springing off of his left foot to launch himself directly at Dragoon's face, quickly striking Dragoon's eye with a clenched fist before he landed on the dragon's head. Dragoon roared in pain as he squeezed his eye shut, now half blind as he reared up on his hind legs, tossing head back and forth as he roared to shake Kung-Pow Chicken off of his head.

The bird man however, remained stuck fast, clinging onto the dragon's horns with a tight grip until Dragoon took a chance and rammed his head downward into the wall; the bird-like demon sprung off of the dragon's head before impact and landed with a roll before popping back up to his feet, unfazed.

"You show remarkable skill, I will grant you that." Dragoon spat as he pulled his head out of the giant hole he had created and shook stone fragments from his head. "But you will not last long; you will tire eventually, and then I will crush you and take your impressive device for my own purposes after taking the hand of fair Jinafire."

"What makes you think she even _wants_ to marry you?" Kung-Pow Chicken snapped. "Did you ever stop to think that she may desire to be with someone else?"

"While you may posess skill, Normie, you lack intelligence." Dragoon scoffed. "She is a woman; woman do not think, merely do what they are told while the men provide for them. That is the proper use of a woman."

"I believe," Kung-Pow Chicken said. "You just pushed your luck."

Before Dragoon could even ask what that meant, a hot jet of fire came from his left, striking him in the face before his suddenly snapped upwards; he shook his head and turned to see Jinafire glaring at him, poised and positioned for attack as a thick cloud of smoke poured from her nose and jaws.

"You dare strike your future husband!?" Dragoon hissed venomously.

"You are and never will be any husband of mine." Jinafire growled.

Kung-Pow Chicken couldn't help but mentally cheer upon hearing that as he rushed at Dragoon, hoping to catch him off guard; the dragon however, saw it coming and swiped at him with his claws, sending him flying across the wall as he swung his tail at Jinafire and felt it collide with her frail body. The dragon didn't pay it much mind however and focused on the bird man that lay sprawled on the wall before, charging right at him and plunging his head downwards to scoop him up in his jaws, closing them around him in triumph.

The workers and soldiers gasped at the sight of the dragon tilting his head upwards to force his meal down his gullet as Jinafire staggered to her feet and ran up his tail and back, effortlessly climbing his long neck to his head where she jammed a pointed finger into his vulnerable eye without hesitation, forcing Dragoon to open his mouth as he roared in agony.

Except Kung-Pow Chicken was not there.

The soldiers and workers gasped even furhter at seeing Dragoon's empty mouth, and even Dragoon himself seemed confused as to what had happened to his adversary; Jinafire meanwhile, felt something break inside of her at seeing her only friend's disappearance. Had he abandoned her at the last second? Had he turned into Icé rén or Ghóstǐ to escape and leave her forever to Dragoon to go far away and never see her again to live out his life in peace? Had he simply given up entirely and slid down Dragoon's gullet to except his fate? Jinafire was horribly confused and frightened as she felt her grip on Dragoon go limp and allow her to fall to the wall; the dragon apparently had enough heart in him to catch her before she landed and set her gently down on the wall, lowering his head down to her level.

"Whatever his fate may be, he was not bad for a Normie." Dragoon admitted. "I almost miss him. Almost."

Jinafire glared at him with tears starting form in her eyes as she raised a hand and slapped him across the face without hesitation.

"I suppose I deserved that." the dragon admitted. "But you are mine now, fair Jinafire. Do not think you can get away with anymore of your nonsense simply beca- AAGH!" he suddenly howled, clutching his head with his claws.

"OW!" he bellowed as Jinafire watched him in confusion. "Get . . . get out of my head!"

Jinafire watched as Dragoon bellowed and roared in agony as he clutched his head, stumbling about in a nearly blind panic as he held his throbbing skull; her pulse quickened and her face tightened with fright when the dragon stumbled back on the edge of the great wall, his foothold on the stone construction slipping as he stumbled back and fell off, plummeting the short distance to the ground and nearly crushing the crowd of onlookers before they managed to get out of the way in time.

"I feel . . . like I'm gonna . . . barf . . ." Dragoon groaned.

Jinafire watched in amazement as a small, nearly microscopic orb came floating out of Dragoon's head, seemingly at the mercy of the breeze as it almost lazily made its way back up to her; she cupped her hands together and raised them to catch the small item before bringing it down to her face for a closer look. Standing in her hands was a small, insect-like creature that stood on two, shimmering grey legs that seemed to be made out of a kind of metal; a pair of gossmar, green wings sprouted out of the creature's back and the Demon Summoner sat at the center of its face with four, tiny, green eyes surrounding it.

"I knew Wéixinsect would come in handy!" the small creature chirped.

Jinafire smiled and hugged the Nanochip to her face before setting him down on the ground as the Demon Summoner timed out in a burst of green light and returned Ben to the world. With a triumphant smile on his face, Ben gently took her hand and pulled the Chinese dragon into a hug. "So you're my wife now, eh?" he joked with a smile.

"Tradition dictates so." Jinafire smiled.

"You only have to be if you want to." Ben told her with a light blush on his face. "To be honest, I had . . . affections for you. I was afraid of what you would think of me if I told you."

Jinafire shook her head. "Ben, we are friends. You can tell me anything you desire and I will not think any different of you." she smiled as she hugged him tightly again, a warm feeling coming to her face as she snuggled her head deeper into his chest. "I have a confession as well."

"And what would that be?" Ben asked.

"I have . . . also had feelings for you as well." she admitted, her golden scales flushing a crimson red in color. "I was worried that you would loose faith and respect in me if I told you."

"Well, I guess that means only one thing." Ben grinned.

"What?"

"That I can finally do this." Ben said before gently pressing his lips to Jinafire's in a sweet kiss, a quiet kiss sounding from their the dragon's hot lips as she gladly returned the affection and wrapped her arms around Ben's neck while he slipped them around her waist and hugged her closer together. Jinafire's tail curled around Ben and held him tightly as she quickly took charge and slithered her long, serpent-like tongue past Ben's lips without warning, surprising him for a second before he relaxed into it and let Jinafire slide her tongue down his throat, whipping at his own tongue without mercy until they finally broke away for air; a puff of smoke came from both of their mouths they stared lovingly at each other.

" _Wǒ ài nǐ._ " Ben smiled.

" _Wǒ yě ài nǐ._ " Jinafire smiled; the two parted and held hands as they walked along the wall towards where it ended to peer down at Dragoon as he lay on his back, his wings splayed out around him as he groaned and raised his neck to see Ben standing victorious over him.

"You fought both dishonorably and honorably, Dragoon Flame." Ben spoke as he released Jinafire's hand for a moment. "I am honored to call you my opponent."

Dragoon growled slightly as he climbed to his feet and flexed his wings to make sure they were still functioning and intact before rising up on his hindlegs to speak to Ben. "You have bested me, young Normie. You have fought with true honor to defend the one you love while I have fought for my own, selfish needs. I am honored to have fought and been defeated by you, Ben Dīng ní shēng, Weilder of the Demon Summoner." Dragoon replied, bowing low in respect to Ben.

A sudden noise caught their attention, and the three of them turned to see a group of soldiers come riding on horses converge on the great wall; at the head of the band of soldiers was a warrior decked out in armor similar to their soldiers, a suit made of jade green metal plating and black clothing in addition to a pair of baggy, brown pants held up by a red belt. They wore a green, dome helmet with a red plume on top; marking their armor were strange violet and gold symbols of hearts and jewels and bizarre Chinese symbols that didn't seem to mean anything. The soldier reached up to pull off their helmet to reveal a head of snow white hair tipped violet pulled back into a long ponytail that reached down to the small of her back and a pair of stern, lavender eyes with strange, black markings under them.

"I am Yāo jī, General of the Emperor's army!" the woman yelled loudly for all to hear. "I am here to arrest The Deceiving Youth and you, Dragoon Flame, for your past crimes and destruction of the Emperor's great wall!"

"You are a thief?" Jinafire hissed quietly to Ben.

"I only stole food, and even then only what I needed." Ben whispered back. "That, and I took down a couple of dishonest businessmen here and there." he added quietly.

"You could have always asked to stay for dinner." Jinafire told him.

"And have my food eaten by your brothers?" Ben responded. "I'm surprised even you can get enough food from everything they eat."

"True." Jinafire replied, squeezing Ben's hand before she jumped onto Dragoon's head and slid down his back and tail before dismounting with a small flip at Yāo jī's feet; Ben followed after her as Jinafire bowed to the general and Dragoon turned around and lowered his head to better listen to the conversation.

"I am Jinafire Long, Daughter of Master Suoh Long." Jinafire bowed respectfully.

"You are Suoh's daughter?" Yāo jī raised an eyebrow. "The resemblance is uncanny, I will admit. I knew your father at a young age, when he trained me so that would be able to join the Emperor's ranks. And even then, he continued to train me, this time in the magical arts." she smiled as she raised a hand and summoned a glowing, pink orb or light and energy into her palm before disapating it with a flex of her fingers.

"I have heard of you." Jinafire nodded. "If I may ask a favor of one of my father's students?"

"What favor?" Yāo jī asked, cocking her head in a curious position.

"Allow my friend and lover to work off their crimes by working on the great wall." Jinafire pleaded. "As you can see, they are more than capable of helping out, even being able to lift some of the stone blocks by themselves that would normally take dozens of men." she continued; Ben and Dragoon shared a look before eagerly bobbing their heads, eager to work away their punishment instead of rotting away in cells.

Yāo jī tapped her chin in thought. "Hmmm. It seems like a wonderful idea. I will have to officially speak with the Emperor himself to clear it, but in the mean time you may begin construction in the hopes of lessening your imprisonment should the Emperor refuse."

"Yes!" Ben and Dragoon sighed with relief.

"Thank you, fair Jinafire." Dragoon bowed his head to her. You have proven yourself more than worthy of being respected as a man. Perhaps even more." he added with a smile before turning to Yāo jī. "And you are an enchantress, no?"

"I dabble." Yāo jī smirked, the strange symbols on her armor and face glowing a faint purple in color.

"Interesting." Dragoon nodded. "And to think you are the general of the Emperor's army. Care to tell me how over a meal sometime?"

Yāo jī smiled and turned a faint shade of pink just barely noticeable to the naked eye. "Come by the Emperor's palace and tell the guards that I sent you; we can discuss it then." she said. "But in the meantime, I would recommend that you begin your work."

"Very well." Dragoon bowed his head to her before lumbering over to one of the massive stone blocks with his four wings folded against his back and hefted it up into his grip with some difficulty.

"I must begin my labor." Ben said to Jinafire. "I shall see you back at your home for some of that dinner you have offered me."

"I will make sure my brothers do not eat it all." Jinafire promised with a smile, kissing Ben on the cheek before backing away to allow Ben to turn on the Demon Summoner and select the transformation he wished to use before slamming down on the waiting piston and swallowing him in a green light. The first change was the most palpable as everything about Ben became utterly massive, his arms and legs swelling to a thousand times their original size as his hands trembled and twitched before ballooning to a gargantuan size to match his new limbs. His feet exploded outwards and slammed hard against the ground, causing a large tremor as he grew taller and taller with every passing second until he was as tall as a mountain. His skin bleached a chrome white before red patches and black stripes arched their way across his body. A loud cracking noise filled the air as two, gigantic blades ripped out of his wrists and arms and fins sprouted from his hips and shoulders just as a massive crest sprouted from his skull. Two, metallic knobs popped out of his cheeks as black, fingerless gloves materialized on his hands before a hulking, gigantic set of green and black samurai armor appeared on Ben's titanic form, completing the transformation as the Demon Summoner appeared on the front of the horned helmet.

The To'kustar let out an earth-shattering, primal roar of power that seemed to shake the very air and earth into submission as every last soldier and worker clapped their hands over their ears to protect them from the noise of the colossus; Jinafire seemed to be unaffected by this as she tilted her head back and nearly fell right on her tail just trying to look at massive demon before her.

"I suddenly feel . . . insignificant." Dragoon whimpered when he noticed that he barely reached the To'kustar's armored knee and watched it bend down and scoop up nearly two dozen stone blocks in both of its gigantic hands with little effort.

"What does he call that form?" Yāo jī asked once she had gotten her frightened horse under control.

"Chāojíant." Jinafire replied. "It is his largest form to date; I doubt there are any bigger than it, though." she added as she watched Chāojíant carefully sit himself down on a hill near the great wall and gently set his collection of stone blocks down before picking one up between two of his fingers and painstakingly slid it into place as some of the braver workers directed him; the majority of the soldiers and laborers were still stunned from the previous fight between Ben and Dragoon, but were slowly getting use to the shape-shifter's presence. Some even dared to climb up onto Dragoon's back to help him show where to put the stone blocks that would have taken them hours to fit into place. The dragon was at first not open to the idea of carrying passengers or being used like a work animal, but eventually got use to it when he saw Yāo jī give him a promising smile.

"I must be off to tell the Emperor of these latest developments." Yāo jī announced as she set her helmet back on her head and took hold of the reins of her horse before turning to Jinafire. "Send your father my greetings and tell him that I wish to catch up with him on matters." she said before turning to leave; a sudden thought occurred to her and she turned around on her horse to give one last word to Jinafire before leaving.

"You really have something with The Deceiving Youth, no?" she asked.

"Yes. I do." Jinafire nodded, a light blush coming to her cheeks.

"Then I suggest you do not let this one go." Yāo jī suggested with a small wink. "He shows great promise; I can feel it in my bones that he will do great things for this world and perhaps even beyond."

"Beyond?" Jinafire cocked an eyebrow.

"Beyond our world." Yāo jī corrected before snapping the reins of her horse to leave. "You may never know what the future holds with Ben Dīng ní shēng, Jinafire Long. For your journey, as they say, has just begun."

 **And there we go!**

 **Now onto the translations for all you confused people out there.**

 **Ghostfreak – Ghóstǐ (a mash up of the word 'ghost' and the Chinese word for 'phantom')**

 **Big Chill - Icé rén (a mash up of the word 'ice' and the Chinese translation for the words 'moth' and 'man')**

 **Four Arms – Mahākāla (based on a four-armed demon from demon from Chinese lore)**

 **Rath - Bai Claw (based on the White Tiger from Chinese lore)**

 **Eatle - Jiǎchomp (mash up on the Chinese word for 'beetle' and the word 'chomp')**

 **Kickin' Hawk - Kung-Pow Chicken (This one is pretty self-explanatory)**

 **Nanomech - Wéixinsect (a mash up of the Chinese translation for 'tiny insect' and the word 'insect')**

 **Way Big – (based on the first half of Way Big's name in Chinese, which translates to 'super'; also a mash up of the word 'giant')**

 **Brainstorm - Xiè libster ( a mash up of the Chinese words for 'crab' and 'scribe' and the word 'lobster')**

 **And for those unable to figure out who is who, Yāo jī is this dimension's equivalent of Charmcaster; and before others asked, I changed Dragoon's back story to suit this dimension. While he is still incredibly powerful as before, he is simply a regular dragon from a village in Fanghai who is all too eager to get his claws on Jinafire (not that Ben will let him). We good on everything? Good.**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	16. A Million Ways to Love in the West

_**Howdy, partners!**_ **Been a while since I've posted, hasn't it? Well, that's what I get for trying to juggle three stories at once during the first week of school.**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Headless Headmistress Bloodgood?**

 **Yep! That's right! Ben's getting' hooked up with the headless head of Monster High this chapter! Just remember, you guys and ghouls voted for it!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onward!**

The sun was hot and the sands of Khoros were a blistering temperature at high noon as Sheriff Bloodgood stretched and inhaled the searing hot air, coughing slightly as sand slipped into her lungs. Once she was sure she wouldn't hack up one of her lungs in the process as she flicked out a cigarette and magnifying glass, slipping both items out from under the protective roof she had taken under; the cigarette instantly burst into flame under the magnification of the glass tool and the sheriff drew a long breath before puffing out a small cloud of smoke.

It had been approximately six or eight months since she had been assigned to protect the Earth colony on Khoros, and she was proud of her work; granted, the incandescent temperature of Khoros was tough to deal with along with the lack of water, but the pros outweighed the cons by far. The inhabitants of Khoros, Tetramands as they called themselves, were willing to trade precious metals harvested out of the planet's crust as well as their apparently famously indestructible engines and spacecraft parts in exchange for labor, Pyroxivor meat, and the occasional stick of deodorant; it turned out the simple body odor repellent helped cure a kind of virus that left the four-armed species weak, sniveling, sneezing, and with horrible hives under all four of their armpits that made them utterly repulsive to be near. A small colony of Pyroxivor farms had been set up out in the badlands of Khoros, and with it came a series of other settlements and alien settlers looking for a new chance of life.

"Ain't this livin'?" Bloodgood sighed happily; her shadow horse, Nightmare snorted with agreement, smoke drifting from her nostrils as she settled down for a nap next to her rider. Bloodgood was about to do the same when the small communicator attached to her belt beeped loudly; in addition to the leather belt around her waist, she wore a plaid, purple and pink flannel shirt under a black vest to which her sheriff badge was pinned to her her left breast. She wore black jeans and a pair of dark, purple cowboy boots in addition to the black cowboy hat on her head that shielded her one good eye from the blinding sun; the other eye was gone and hidden behind an eye patch, lost in a Sand Ripper attack. The teeth of said Sand Ripper were currently around Bloodgood' neck in a loose necklace, a trophy of sorts that she wasn't afraid to show off.

"Planet Khoros, Earth Colony Eden, Sheriff Bloodgood speakin'," Bloodgood listed off as she answered the communicator.

"Glad you picked up this time, Bloodgood." an old, weathered voice came from the other end.

The sheriff rolled her eye. "You know I was dealin; with some Pyroxivor rustlers last time, Max." she told her superior. "What do ya want now?"

"I'm sending you two new recruits." Max replied.

Bloodgood frowned. "Max, you know I can handle things here myself." she argued.

"I now, Grace, but we have reason to believe that a weapon smuggling ring is either operating out of Khoros or is currently hiding out there; we need you to find 'em and bring 'em in." Max explained. "These two guys . . . they're the best men we got."

Bloodgood's frown increased. "I thought _I_ was the best one you had?" she growled.

Max paused from the other end. "Yeah. I lied." was all he said before he hung up on her, the communicator going silent; Bloodgood clenched her teeth and chucked the white, badge-like device with a large, red spot in the center into the sand before falling back in on her chair to pout angrily. Nightmare stirred and lifted her head, whinnying slightly as if she were asking what was wrong.

"Oh, it's nothing, Nightmare." Bloodgood sighed unhappily. "We're just getting' a couple o' fancy showoffs to show us how ta do our jobs."

Nightmare snorted angrily upon hearing this, biting the bit in her mouth furiously.

"I completely agree." Bloodgood nodded. "Wonder when the slackers'll get here." she grumbled.

"Howdy, Sheriff Bloodgood!"

The law enforcer looked up and let a small smile creep across her face when she saw the little girl skipping happily across the small town towards her, a friendly grin plastered on her face; the girl had light, mint green skin and had mismatched eyes of blue and green. Her body was arched with stitches, as if she had been composed of different body parts and her long, black and white streaked hair was messy and dirtied behind her as she wore a ragged, blue dress that just barely reached her knees as she moved on a pair of crude sandals.

"'Morning, Frankie." Bloodgood smiled. "How goes the herd?"

"Daddy's been havin' trouble keepin' the bull under control." Frankie replied as she sat down at Bloodgood's feet eagerly. "He said some really funny stuff too when the bull hit him in his pos-terior." she added, trying to pronounce the word correctly.

"Tell ya what: if that nasty ol' brute gives ya pa anymore trouble, jus' holler fer me and I'll smooth 'im out fer ya." Bloodgood sighed with slight disappointment. "So what brings you here? Ol' Holt givin' ya trouble ag'in?"

Frankie shook her head, sending her dirt black and white locks swishing back and forth. "I wanna here about yer adventures! Can you tell me about the time you beat up the mean ol' Sand Ripper?" she begged with those pleading eyes that Bloodgood simply couldn't resist no matter how she tried. With a reluctant sigh, she surrendered and pulled the little cadaver up onto her lap/ She was about to jump into the story when a loud roar thundered across the sky, kicking up a cloud of sand that swept through the one and only main street the town had as an orange and white spacecraft about the size of a large Sand Ripper descended down from the sky; the craft had sharp, angled wings and a large, windshield that allowed anyone from the outside to peer into the spacecraft if one could see past the intense glare of the sun. On the wings were a black, circular symbol with a sharp, green hourglass figure at its center. The symbol was foreign to Frankie as she fearfully clung to Bloodgood and watched with curious eyes while the sheriff knew the sumbol all to well. Then suddenly, before Frankie's very eyes, the spacecraft warped and shifted into a small van before it touched down with the words "Max's Blacksmithing" on the side along with the image of a crude, obese man in a cowboy hat, floral Hawaiian shirt, and vest.

"Jus' what is that?" Frankie wondered aloud.

"Trouble, that's what." Bloodgood frowned as she set Frankie down and held onto her hand as she climbed to her feet with Nightmare following suit, a suspicious glare on the shadow horse's face. Nothing moved for what seemed hours on end before the door closest to them clicked and swung open to reveal a tall, lean figure that Bloodgood quickly identified as a Revonnahgander climbed out of the driver's seat, blinking blearily in the hot sun before taking off the brown cowboy hat on his head to wipe his brow and fan himself; in addition to the hat, the Revonnahgander wore a blue neckerchief and dark brown trench coat with a bizarre weapon sitting on the left shoulder. Multiple straps crisscrossed over his chest, holding what looked like grenades of some kind as a pair of leather belts held up his black pants and exposed his blue legs and black shoes.

"Pardon me, but are you Sheriff Grace Bloodgood?" the Revonnahgander asked kindly.

Bloodgood cocked an eyebrow, but slowly nodded regardless; this was not what she was expecting. "It'll just be Bloodgood to yas, Revonnahgander." she said.

"Pardon me for not introducing myself earlier," he apologized, bowing slightly. "My name is Rook Blonko."

Bloodgood nodded. "I was told there was gonna be two of yas."

"That'd be me, ma'am." another voice spoke up. Bloodgood looked behind Rook to see a human teen about a head shorter than his Revonnahgander partner with a wide brimmed, black cowboy hat with a green trim on his head and a green neckerchief around his neck. He wore a black flannel shirt, pair of dirty blue jeans with a leather belt and boots, and multiple straps along his legs, arms, and chest. Four blasters were sitting in their holsters attached to his belt, greatly confusing Bloodgood; why would a human need four guns? Most of them could only wield one and were lucky to be able to use two, but this was quickly ignored when she caught sight of a strange, watch-like device strapped to the boy's left wrist.

"Name's Tennyson." the boy introduced himself. "Ben Tennyson. Don't suppose yas heard o' me and my partner?"

Bloodgood narrowed her eyes. "Can't say I have, stranger."

Ben held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I don't want no trouble. I'm jus' doing' my job."

The sheriff was about to say something else when a loud _crack!_ cut through the air like a knife, followed by pained screaming as a rather large object soared high into the air before coming back down again, smashing into the side of Rook's spacecraft and ending up half buried in the hot sand.

"My Proto-WAGN!" Rook exclaimed.

"Daddy!" Frankie yelled as she rushed over to the figure as Ben bent down and helped the large man to his feet with a grunt; just like Frankie, the bulky man was riddled with stitches and had pale green skin under his shaggy, black hair and beard. While he didn't suffer from the mismatched eyes like his daughter, he possessed a pair of large bolts jammed out of his neck that crackled with energy as he wore a pair of stained overalls over a no longer white shirt with a pair of thick, heavy boots on his feet and a red neckerchief around his neck.

"I'm fine, pum'kin." Viktor groaned as he was hauled to his feet, wincing at his aching body. "That darn bull's at it ag'in. I swear, if'in I get my hands on 'im . . ." he growled, making throttling motions with his massive hands.

"I'd be willin' to take on this here bull o' yers." Ben offered out of the blue.

Bloodgood sputtered and gaped like a fish gasping for breath as Viktor rose a suspicious eyebrow. "Do I know you, boy?" he asked.

Ben shrugged. "Probably not. But me an' my partner here are the new sheriff's in town; we'll be partnerin' up with Ms. Bloodgood here while we take care of some . . . business." Ben explained. "Now about yer bull problem . . ."

"Yer welcome ta try." Viktor grunted. "The ugly brute's as dumb as a brick but almost ten times as strong; I can't get 'im in the barn no matter what I try."

"Get 'im in the barn, you say? No problem." Ben grinned. "Show me this here bull." he ordered. Viktor shrugged and took Frankie's tiny hand in his massive fingers, leading her and Ben away from the sheriff's office as Rook whimpered and starred at his damaged ride; Bloodgood frowned and turned to face Nightmare, the two of them sharing a look before the former mounted the shadow horse and followed after Viktor. Something about this new stranger didn't sit well with her, and she wanted to find out why. And, as an added bonus, if he were to somehow fail, she would be there to hold it over his head until he left her and the little community and reputation she had built around herself alone and behind.

The Pyroxivor was a sight to behold. About twice as big as one of the cows and with three massive horns on its face instead of just the usual one that was common among the females and calves, the beast snorted and pawed angrily at the ground, false charging at the fence of the pen it was kept in as Ben, Viktor, and Frankie approached the animal.

"There she be," Viktor said. "The meanest, ugliest, strongest, dumbest Pyroxivor to every exist."

"Haven't ya tried askin' it nicely, Daddy?" Frankie wondered. "Maybe it'll go inta the barn if you say please."

Viktor sighed, being patient with his little girl. "I tried that first, pum'kin, but it seems the dumb brutes got no sense o' manners to begin with."

"He don' look so tough." Ben smirked as he leaned on the fence of the pen, jumping back just in time as the bull screeched horribly and charged at the fence, coming to a screeching halt just a couple feet from breaking free.

You're crazy, boy." Viktor shook his head.

"Crazy? No." Ben grinned knowingly as Bloodgood rode up with a confident smirk on her lips. "About to show that overgrown steak who's boss? Yes." he said as he tapped the strange watch on his wrist and suddenly slapped it; everyone gasped and startled as Ben was suddenly swallowed in a bright flash of green light as his DNA was scrambled and changed into something new. His skin hardened into a thick exoskeleton, becoming jointed and plated as it slowly turned a light green in color; his bones vanished as his skull became pointed and sharp, his head becoming thicker and thicker while his teeth ground and cracked into razor-sharp edges that fit neatly together like a piranha's jaws. Ben's eyebrows became pointed as his eyes turned green and quick sighted while his legs crunched and snapped loudly when they bent backwards, a slightly painful process as a sort of webbing formed between the two joints. His toes tore through his thick boots, now three sharp claws, two in front, one in back. His middle fingers cracked loudly as they regressed into his hand, his remaining digits thickening and became pointed claws while muscles packed themselves on top of each other in his legs; Ben's body pinched and divided into two sections, his butt expanding out into a slim abdomen as a set of black and green overalls formed on his back just as spines ripped out of the back of his arms and legs, completing the transformation as a green neckerchief appeared around his neck with the same, sharp hourglass figure Frankie had seen on the Proto-WAGN on the article of clothing.

"Does my appearance _bug_ you?" Locust grinned cockily. Before any of them could respond, the alien insect, bent its large legs and shot off into the air, seeming to disappear into the glare of the sun before he reached his climax and came plummeting back down towards the ground headfirst, the wind rushing past his face before he suddenly his feet forward and slammed his feet into the ground just in front of the bull Pyxroivore, sending out a loud shock wave that sent the bull flying across the pen where thumped heavily against the ground.

"Whatever you are an' whatever you're doin', boy, yer only makin' 'im angrier!" Vikot rwarned.

"That's the idea!" Locust chirped before turning his gaze to the bull as it climbed to its feet and snorted angrily, pawing the ground.

Bloodgood watched in amazement and jealousy as the Pyroxivor surged forward like an out of control train and just barely missed Locust as he dodged to the side, rolling along the ground before popping back up as the bull came to a skidding halt. The alien insect then pulled off his neckerchief and held it in front of him like a cape, wiggling his eyebrows tauntingly as he waved the article of clothing around; the Pyroxivore narrowed its eyes and charged at him, aiming directly for the green neckerchief, only to have it yanked aside at the last second and leave the animal bewildered and all the more angry. As much as Bloodgood hated to admit it, Locust had some technique, repeatedly wearing down the heavy animal and tiring it as he bounced and bounded around like an out of control pogo-stick.

" _¡Olé!_ " Locust cracked with amusement as he tossed the neckerchief away; the bull was now hot and tired, panting and snorting heavily as it glared at the alien insect with hatred. "Which way to the barn?" he asked Viktor.

"It's right behind ya, Mr. Locust, sir!" Frankie yelled, pointing one of her tiny fingers over the fence and behind him.

Locust nodded and turned his attention back to the Pyroxivor, just in time to see the hulking animal slam into him with the force of a runaway locomotive; the insect dug its feet into the earth and clung tightly to the bull's horns, hauling himself up onto the animal's back and clinging on for dear life as it started to buck and run around the pen.

" _YEE-HAW!_ " Locust whooped and hollered as he effortlessly hung on to the Pyroxivor's thick hide; he rode the bull around and around the pen, steering it towards the barn at the back of the paddock when it suddenly came to a screeching halt and threw Locust off of its back, sending his face skidding into the dirt.

"Up and at 'em!" he quickly quipped, shooting back into the air to come crashing back down behind the Pyroxivor to suddenly give it several quick kicks to its backside before ramming his rock hard skull into the animal's back, sending it flying low across the ground and into the barn where it cave a feeble groan and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"Now that's how to rustle Pyroxivors." Locust grinned before he was suddenly engulfed in a bright flash of green light that swept over his body and sucked him back into the watch as Ben reappeared in his place, a smirk on his face as he winked at Bloodgood.

The sheriff could do nothing but turn red, though whether it was from rage or embarrassment was to debate.

* * *

Over the next several days, Ben made himself well known around the small colony on Khoros, much to Bloodgood's annoyance. The new comer had quickly become a thorn in her side as he effortlessly outdid her in practically everything she did; he brought water to the dry, nearly dead crops that fed the settlers on the colony with a transformation he called Rio Grande, a red, man-like creature covered in barnacles and smelling of sea salt, and defended the colony from Sand Ripper attacks with another transformation he called Brawlasaurus, a large dinosaur that could have easily picked up a house with his bare hands if he needed to. He even managed to introduce a new kind of crop that was hardier than the plants the colonists ate with yet another transformation he called Crop Buster, a living plant with a single, green eye and four tentacles that he walked around on.

In addition to easily bettering the colony in nearly any manner, the colonists themselves seemed to favor the two new comers over her; Rook had taken to fixing and upgrading the colony's water plumbing, allowing the now high tech water tower to absorb what little moisture was in the air much like Rio Grande could. There had been little ways to travel the long distances needed to gather enough food for the rock eating Pyroxivors, the settlers often having to travel out in large groups just to carry back enough rocks to feed their livestock; a few of them never returned, taken by the Sand Rippers that lurked beneath the sand. Now, there were a variety of mechs and small spacecraft, created by Rook from the large amount of scrap metal that was found lying around, that hovered over the blistering sands of Khoros, allowing the settlers to gather more food for their livestock and get it back to the colony faster than they could before, especially whenever Ben tagged along to use Mineshaft, a hulking, armored, yellow creature with pick axes for hands, and easily drill out whole tunnels and mine shafts within the mountains of Khoros, sometimes even excavating rare minerals.

What really hurt Bloodgood the most was that Frankie no longer talked to her anymore, no longer begging to hear her tall tales of her adventures across Khoros; instead, the little cadaver now hung out with Ben and Rook in the town's bar, listening to their tales of their heroic deeds and adventures across the galaxy while the two of them played cards, occasionally teaching Frankie how to play some of the more innocent games like Go Fish.

It turned out that Frankie was actually _very_ good at it.

Bloodgood sighed as she sat outside of the sheriff's office, smoking another cigarette with Nightmare by her side, same as the day when Ben and Rook arrived and turned her life upside down. Rook, she didn't mind all that much; she wasn't very advanced with technology like he was. But Ben, Ben she did mind. There was something about the way the young teenager smiled that made her blood boil and yet made her heart beat faster upon seeing it, the way he battled the Sand Rippers and defended the colony with his life, the way he played with little Frankie when he wasn't busy, it made her both angry and . . . _happy_. What was this feeling that swept over her whenever she saw Ben?

She was about to ponder it some more, when blaster fire suddenly caught her attention. Bloodgood jumped out of her seat and looked in the direction the loud noise was coming and gritted her teeth when she saw six figures come riding across the dunes on the backs of five Zibosons; the hulking, red beasts were about the size of rhinos with four horns at the corners of their face and a large frill around their thick neck that centered their four, small eyes in the middle of their face.

Atop the lead Ziboson was a female Tetramand dressed in a black leotard, traditional Tetramand armor, a brown cowboy hat on her head, and a black neckerchief drawn up around her face; her long, raven black hair flowed in the wind behind, her four golden eyes narrowed into near slits as she hung onto her mount with her two, slim right arms and slung a large, double headed war hammer in her other two. On another Ziboson were two other figures, the first one being lean and rather wiry as he wore a black cowboy hat with a pair of goggles around the brim and another black neckerchief around his mouth; the other one was quite large and well muscled, brandishing a rather large blaster in one hand as he hung on behind his brother.

On another Ziboson was a female Acrosian wearing a large, bulky set of brown, rusted power armor with massive, spiked hands, and a feminine figure that showed off her curves; in addition to the armor, she too wore a black neckerchief around her face and had a pair of blasters clipped to her belt. Across from her rode what appeared to be a man-sized chicken with a black cowboy hat, cloak, open-toed boots with spurs, and leather straps across his chest that attached to the belt around his waist; sitting on the straps were rows of small grenades and clipped to his belt was a small blaster suited to work with his talons. Bringing up the rear of the gang was a pink, caterpillar-like alien wearing a life-support power armor with two strong arms tipped with sharp, metal claws, black torso with purple accents, small legs, and a short tail in addition to the prominent blue, round helmet that protected him from the scorching heat outside; a pair of small, metal rods were clipped to his belt and he wore a wide brimmed sombrero on top of his helmet and a black neckerchief over the front of the helmet.

Bloodgood narrowed her eyes and slowly reached for her blaster as the gang came to a halt in the center of the town, dismounting their Zibosons and looking around the colony for a few minutes before the Tetramand, the leader of the gang, spoke up in a loud, demanding voice.

"I am Looma Redwind of the House of the Redwind!" she roared loudly. "And this here is a stick up!" she announced before turning to her gang. "Suck 'em dry!" she ordered.

The criminals nodded and each grabbed their weapons as Looma bent her legs and launched herself high into the air, spinning her war hammer around her head before smashing it back down into the ground as she came crashing back to the earth, creating a loud shock wave that thrust up the planet's crust and rock; the rest of the criminals fired off their blasters, shooting out windows and destroying crates and barrels to cause general chaos before they began to loot everything of value.

"C'mon, Nightmare! Time ta ride!" Bloodgood yelled loudly as she mounted her shadow horse and pulled out her blaster with a grim expression. She snapped the reins and Nightmare reared into the air, lashing out with her legs before charging after the giant chicken and caterpillar as they raced around the side of a cabin and towards the Pyroxivor pens that ringed the colony; Bloodgood fired off her blaster and struck one of the fence posts, burning the tip as the two villains turned around and fired off their weapons.

"BWAK! Set the loose the cattle, Bubble Helmet!" the chicken clucked.

"You sure da boss wants dis, Liam?" Bubble Helmet as the two, metal rods clipped to his belt lengthened into a pair of long staffs that shot of lasers when he sun them around in wide circles.

"BRAWK! Just do it!" Liam yelled, ducking just in time to have his hat knocked off his head and blown apart. Bubble Helmet nodded and turned around towards the main pen the Pyroxivors were kept in, a large herd of maybe a hundred of the beasts grazing on the craggy rocks in the center; the caterpillar smashed the gate open with two swift movements of his weapons before firing off several lasers at the front of the herd. The Pyroxivors bellowed and screeched horribly as they panicked, running around like mad and occasionally smashing into each other before they found the opening in their paddock and stampeded out into the town in a large herd.

"NO!" Bloodgood cried. The livestock were smashing through the rock transporters and destroying all of the crops the settlers had harvested in their maddened, panicked rush, barreling through into the sides of buildings as frightened colonists screamed and ran about, helpless as all their hard work was reduced to rubble in the simple, mass panicked. The sheriff gritted her teeth and looked between the townsfolk and the chicken she had at blaster point before cursing under her breath and turning Nightmare back around back towards the town.

"My Proto-WAGN!" Rook wailed with despair as the stampede of Pyroxivors smashed into his vehicle and battered and slammed it, reducing to a beaten up and sorry state that was in no condition to fly; before Rook could attempt to rescue his Proto-WAGN, the Pyroxivors ran right into him, taking him along as they ran around in a panick.

A sudden crash caught her attention and she turned to look just in time to see the stouter of the two brothers come flying out of the town's bar and smash into a fence post, dazed and groaning as he lay there; seconds later, the skinny of the two followed suit, ramming into his brother and lying there, moaning, as their attacker came lumbering out of the bar with an angry expression on his face. It was a tall, muscled Tetramand with four, gigantic arms tipped with strong fingers, two durable legs tipped with a pair of claws, four green eyes, and a stubby beard; he was wearing a wide brimmed cowboy hat, a tough, black and green chest plate and vest covered by a black shawl over his chest, a pair of baggy, black pants, and open-toed boots with spurs.

"WHO'S MESSIN' WITH MY TOWN!?" Gun Slinger roared angrily as he grabbed the four blasters clipped to his belt and fired off a round into the sky.

"So _that's_ why he has four guns." Bloodgood whispered to herself. She watched as Gun Slinger fired off all four pistols at once, the blaster fire bouncing off of two broken windows before striking the Acrosian square in the chest and sending her clear through the side of a building; one of her spiked fists came flying out of the hole and collided with the Tetramand's jaw, sending him jerking back before the Acrosian charged out of the hole and slugged him in the gut.

"Nobody strikes Fistina before Fistina strikes first!" the Acrosian yelled angrily.

"Well, 'cuse me!" Gun Slinger growled as he lashed out with a leg from the ground and swept out Fistina's own legs out from under her, allowing him time to climb to his feet and grab her by the feet before spinning around and around in tight circle and letting her fly loose upon climax, sending her crashing through the roof of the town's bank. The Tetramand was about to follow after to make sure she had been taken care of when a certain Pyroxivor suddenly slammed into him, using him like a battering ram to run through three barrels before Gun Slinger realized what was happening.

"YOU!" he exclaimed at the animal. Indeed, it was the same bull from a couple days ago, now blistering mad and ready for a rematch as the beast slammed him into the ground and ran him over once, driving him into the dirt.

Bloodgood winced at the sight, but had other matters to take care of. She fired a shot back at Liam before grabbing her lasso and twirling it around over her head to then toss and slip the rope around the neck of the first Pyroxivor that came within range, hanging on tightly as Nightmare dug her hooves into the dirt to restrain the massive animal; the Pyroxivor at first struggled and attempted to get away before Bloodgood managed to steer it back towards the pen, thankfully drawing a few more Pyroxivors into following after them as she returned the animals back to their pen. The problem now was how she was going to close it and make sure the beasts actually stayed in one place.

A sudden roar caught her attention, and she looked upwards just in time to see the same bull that had given Viktor so much trouble only days ago come flying through the air before coming crashing down in the center of the pen, dazed and defeated but otherwise fine as it climbed to its feet and shoot loose a layer of sand.

"It would appear that Ben has lost his temper." Rook observed as he came walking around the pen.

"That's an understatement." Bloodgood nodded. "Do ya think ya can stay here an' make sure the livestock stays 'ere while I go round up those yellow-bellied thieves?"

"It would be an honor." Rook nodded as he took the strange weapon off of his shoulder and cocked it like a gun, standing guard at the pen as Bloodgood rode off back to the center of the town, weaving Nightmare in and out of the panicked Pyroxivors and settlers as she rode after Liam, Bubble Helmet, and Fistina as they loaded their Zibosons with bags of loot they had stolen from the town's bank.

"Reach fer the sky!" Bloodgood demanded, aiming her blaster at the three villains; the criminals shared a look before doing as they were told, Fistina having a challenging smirk on her face. Before Bloodgood could realize she had made a fatal mistake, Fistina's two fists separated from her wrists and blasted off right at Bloodgood, aiming for her head and gut. There was no way Bloodgood would be able to block both shots without suffering one hit from the other or injuring Nightmare in the process. She closed her eyes and waited the inevitable pain to come, to feel the sudden spike of pain rattle through her body.

It never came though, and she cracked open her eye to see Gun Slinger standing in front of her, holding back the flying fists with two of his hands as he reached for two of his own blasters with the other two and fired them, expertly hitting all three of the criminals in a row before he managed to turn Fistina's own fists back against her.

"You 'kay?" the Tetramand asked before he was suddenly swallowed in a flash of green light, returning Ben back to the world.

"Fine . . ." Bloodgood nodded. "Why'd ya save me though?"

"Why not? Can't let ya lose another one of them pretty eyes of yours, now can I?" Ben grinned.

Bloodgood blushed slightly and was about to say something else when a loud scream pierced the air, followed by an enraged yell that sounded very much like that of an angry father; the sheriff turned Nightmare back around and rode off towards the sound as Ben turned on the Omnitrix and slapped the activation button without looking at which alien he had selected as his DNA was changed into something new. The first change incredibly major as Ben could feel himself being literally cut into strips by some kind of unseen force, as if being cut by a giant pair of invisible shears; he could feel his bones and organs slowly wither away into nothingness, and for a moment Ben swore he was going to die when he felt each and every last strip of his body vibrate with health, as if each piece were alive in its own way. Like magic, they twisted themselves together to make a crude, muscled figure with exaggerated fingers and toes made of thin strips. He could feel his face harden and become pointed and turn black and green in color. The face plate sat itself on top of the bandaged shoulders as a green and black headdress appeared on his head, a black neckerchief trimmed with green appearing around his neck as two tendrils sprouted from his back. Black and green braces appeared on his arms and ankles as pair of torn and ragged, black pants materialized on him; the transformation completed when the Omnitrix appeared on a green belt around his thin waist as a black cowboy hat appeared on his head.

"Lasso Hands?" the Thep Khufan moaned as he looked over himself. "Why couldn't I have gottin' Bullet?" he complained before he ran towards where the scream had come, rounding the corner of the settlement's general store and coming to a stop when he saw the entire gang atop their Zibosons among bags of loot and valuables; Looma sat at the lead, an annoyed frown on her face as she held onto her hammer with one hand and held a frightened Frankie in her two others, a blaster pointed directly at her head.

"Nobody moves or the kid gets it!" the Tetramand ordered; Bloodgood could do nothing else but put her hands above her head and away from her blaster as Looma nodded with approval. "If'in ya want the brat back, you don't follow us and wait until we send word of our demands; any attempts ta follow us or rescue the brat, and the girl gets it, ya hear!?" she threatened. Once she was sure she had her point, Looma struck her weapon against the side of her mount and turned it around to head off out into the desert, her gang following after her with Frankie giving both Lasso Hands and Bloodgood a pleading look.

Bloodgood watched helplessly as Frankie was taken away from the colony, climbing off of Nightmare and falling to her knees as she cried out to the heavens and slammed her fists into the sand with frustration, not even caring that her hands were practically baked alive.

"Stop yer sniveling, Sheriff!" Lasso Hands demanded. "We gotta go after the kid!"

"N-no." Bloodgood shook her head. "She's better off without us, _me_ , rescuing her." she sniffed, wiping her eye to prevent tears from falling. "I've failed her . . . I-I don't deserve ta be sheriff."

Lasso Hands narrowed his eyes and grabbed Bloodgood by the front of her shirt, hauling her off of the ground and slapping her across the face a couple of times. "Snap out of it, Sheriff! That kid's life is on the line! And if'in you don't do something about it, me and Rook will!"

Bloodgood sighed and took off her hat, letting it fall to the ground without a care. "Ya might as well; I'm old an' washed up now. You two would make better replacements fer me."

The Thep Khufan narrowed his eyes and slapped her across the face again. "That's crazy talk!"

"It's true."

Lasso Hands slapped Bloodgood across the face again. "Yer crazy if ya think me an' Rook are yer replacements, yer crazier than them there crooks! We volunteered ta take this here job because yer one of our idols!"

Bloodgood sniffed and looked Lasso Hands in the eyes. "Really?"

"Of course!" the Thep Khufan exclaimed. "Yer rough an' tough, you don't let anything get in your way, an' you don't stop until the job's done and over. And you do it all while lookin' as hot as the very sands you walk on."

"Really?" Bloodgood repeated with a slightly red face.

"Yeah." Lasso Hands nodded. "Now quit feelin' sorry fer yerself and act like the hero I have come ta idolize."

Bloodgood nodded as the Thep Khufan released and let her climb to her feet, bending down to pick up her hat and set it on her hand, her fingers sliding along the brim as a determined and enraged look crossed her face. "Get Rook. Let the townsfolk round up the Pyroxivors; we got a girl ta save."

"Now there's the Bloodgood I know!" Lasso Hands grinned. "Let's saddle up!"

"One problem, partner," Bloodgood shook her head. "Ya don't have a horse, there ain't no other horses 'r Ziboson anywhere nearby, an' Nightmare can't carry no more than me."

The Thep Khufan gave a mouthless smile as he was engulfed in a bright flash of green light as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world, a knowing smirk on his face. "Never said I had no horse." he grinned before he put his fingers to his lips and blew a loud, shrill whistle. Bloodgood turned her head towards the ruined remains of the Proto-WAGN and watched a green and black goo oozed its way out of the rubble, pooling together on the ground before it began to shift and warp together, forming the body of a sleak, lean, strong, black stallion covered in green circuit patterns and with a single, green ring for an eye at the center of its face.

"What is that?" Bloodgood wondered as the animal snorted and trotted over to Ben, nuzzling him affectionately.

"My horse, Ship." Ben replied. "He's one of them Galvanic Mechamorphs."

"Ship!" the horse beeped, the green ring on its face lighting up whenever it spoke; Bloodgood jumped back, startled, before calming down as Ben climbed onto Ship's back and waited as a pair of green reins, saddle, and bit materialized into existence onto the Galvanic Mechamorph's body.

"Let's ride!" Ben declared.

* * *

Frankie squirmed and fought against the rough ropes that dug deep into her patchwork skin, angrily biting her teeth in the strip of burlap strung over her mouth and managing to snap it in half after a few attempts before she spat it out. "Yer in big trouble, ya here!? Ben, Rook, and even Sheriff Bloodgood are probably comin' ta kick yer sorry pos-teriors and rescue me right now!" he yelled.

Looma slammed her deck of cards down on the table in front of her as she pushed herself away from the game and drew herself up to her full height, making Frankie gulp slightly as the Tetramand stomped over to her and effortlessly picked her and the chair she was tied to off of the ground. "Fer once in your pathetic life, shut yer trap if ya know what's good fer ya." she spat.

"That's gonna be hard; I don't know a whole lot." Frankie admittedly innocently.

Looma grumbled something incoherently under her breath and pitched Frankie back towards the ground, not even caring when the chair the young was tied to landed roughly on its side and forced Frankie's face into the dirt of the criminal's hideout; hidden deep within the bowels of an abandoned mine, Looma and her gang had made their base of operations at the very center of the mine, surrounded by the rust red rock on all sides. Mine shafts wormed and tunneled their way through the sides of the rock, rusted mine tracks snaking their way through the air overhead and along ledges as a massive pile of stolen loot sat in one corner of the hideaway; dim lightbulbs that were just barely powered hung overhead, allowing the criminals to play a game of cards in the darkness of the mine.

"Got any nines?" Bubble Helmet grumbled to Rhomboid.

"Uh, what does nine look like ag'in?" the Vreedle scratched his head.

"Ya got none, Boid. Go Fish." Octagon sighed as he looked at his brother's hand.

"Hey, no peekin'!" Rhomboid protested as he covered his cards protectively.

Bubble Helmet rolled his eyes as he drew another card from the stack in the table's center, thankful that Frankie had decided to be quiet for once; ever since the thieves had taken her to their hideout and tied her up, she hadn't stopped yapping her trap until Looma had finally had enough of the racket and gagged her, filling the mine with wonderful silence.

"Does the little chicken have any threes?" Fistina asked.

"BRAWK! Go Fish." Liam clucked as he turned to Looma while Fistina drew another card. "So, boss? When da we send the note?"

"Depends," Looma grumbled as she examined her hand of cards carefully. "How much do ya think we can get for the brat?"

"Considerin' there ain't many of them colonists, I'd say we could get a pretty good deal." Octagon said. "Only question is how much can we ask fer before we be pushin' our luck."

"Think maybe we could get twenty Taydens for her?" Bubble Helmet wondered.

"BWAK! Twenty Taydens ain't enough fer the scrawny worm!" Liam argued. "She's gotta be worth more than that! Besdies, twenty Taydens'll only get ya a shot at the cheapest bar out there."

"You mean that place we shot up and murdered the bar tender on Vulpin?" Rhomboid guessed.

"Shut yer trap, Boid. It's Liam's turn anyhow." Octagon sighed.

"How about _our_ turn, eh?" a tough, gravelly voice with a suspicious Canadian accent yelled.

The crooks all whipped their heads towards where the noise had come, an old open mine shaft and saw Rook, Sheriff Bloodgood, Nightmare, Ship, and a large, hairy, Sasquatch-like creature sitting on Ship's back covered in shaggy, yellow, black, and white hair from head to toe; a large, black cowboy hat sat on his head, covering the three metallic horns sitting there just above his eyebrows as a pair of metal straps crisscrossed over his strong chest and a pair of open-toed cowboy boots sat on his ape-like feet.

"Get the girl!" Looma snapped angrily at Bubble Helmet and Liam as she grabbed her war hammer. "Drop her down the old shaft!"

"B-B-But, boss! That's the ol' geyser!" Liam clucked as he and Bubble Helmet picked up Frankie's chair.

"I know." Looma growled. "Any objections?"

"No . . ." Liam gulped as he and Bubble Helmet hefted a screaming off of the ground and down a mine tunnel as the rest of the criminals pulled out their weapons and open fired on the heroes. With a loud roar as he pounded his chest in anger, Shock Monkey leaped off of Ship's back and down into the hideout, his fur crackling with electricity as he slammed his fists into the earth and sent out an electric shock wave that briefly stunned the criminals as Bloodgood, Nightmare, Rook, and Ship all jumped down to join the fight.

Rook pulled the strange weapon off of his arm and grinned triumphantly when it suddenly morphed and shifted into a long quantum staff that he used to smack Rhomboid across the face before slamming his feet into the over-sized Vreedle's chest, sending him falling to the ground as Rook spun the staff around in his fingers just fast enough to block all blaster fire from Octagon before the Revonnahgander changed the quantum staff into a large plasma sword. Rook swiped the blade at Octagon, forcing him to duck and then jump over the blade to avoid getting sliced in half before Rook kicked him in the chest, sending him flying across the space and into a rock wall, groaning as he slid down to the ground and into unconsciousness.

"Sheriff Bloodgood! Ben! We will hold the line!" Rook called out, his voice echoing in the old mine as he dodged one of Fistina's flying fists. "Rescue the hostage!"

"Gotcha, Rook!" Shock Monkey nodded, giving his partner a thumbs up before he screeched loudly and fired off a concentrated beam of electricity at Fistina, shocking and then dazing the Acrosian long enough for him and the sheriff to run down the mine shaft after Liam and Bubble Helmet.

"You won't last long, Revonnahgander!" Looma spat as she brought her war hammer down and obliterated the spot Rook had been moments before he dodged to the right and rolled out of harms way, popping back and morphing his Proto-Tool into it original blaster form to fire off several shots at Looma, striking her in the neck, breasts, and under her arms as she yelled in pain and defiance and swung her hammer again, missing as Rook jumped up high into the air and shifted his Proto-Tool into a custom bow to fire off three energy arrows at the angry Tetramand leader, grinning victoriously when the arrows dug themselves deep into Looma's neck and shoulders.

"That tickles!" Looma snarled as she swung her hammer horizontally again, forcing Rook to duck under the attack before she swung it straight down, managing to finally hit the Revonnahgander and force him down into the ground like a stake as he became dazed and delirious. Just before the Tetramand could finish him off with a final swing, a loud whinny caught her attention and she turned her head just in time to take a hoof to the jaw from Ship; his single green ring eye narrowed and pinched downward as Looma stumbled backwards, holding her throbbing jaw as her anger swelled. With a war cry, she charged at the Galvanic Mechamorph, fully ready and prepared to obliterate the horse into goo before the animal suddenly warped and folded and morphed into a large bison at the last second and rammed and rammed his head into Looma's gut, plowing across the cavern and slamming her into a wall.

The Tetramand groaned and gritted her teeth as she grabbed the bison by the horns and managed to push him off of her before she hauled his entire weight into the air with all four of her arms and three him across the cavern, cursing under her breath when the large animal changed into a hawk and wheeled around in the air to avoid hitting the cavern wall at the last second. Ship screeched and dive bombed at Looma, striking his talons across her face and leaving six ragged cuts across her face as she screamed in agony; the Galvanic Mechamorph suddenly changed in midair once more and fell to the ground as a large scorpion, skittering quickly right at Looma as he fired gren laser beams from his stinger, striking Looma repeatedly in her vulnerable areas as he ran up and across her body, dodging her attempts to squish him into paste.

"The little horsey wants to dance, yes?" Fistina grinned maliciously as Nightmare reared and charged at her, ramming her head into the Acrosian's gut before rearing up onto her hind legs to lash out with her hooves; the Acrosian effortlessly dodged the first strike and grabbed onto the shadow horse's leg with her other hand, her grin broadening as she easily lifted Nightmare up into the air and slammed her down into the ground. Fistina was about to go for a body slam when she heard a terrified "SHIP!" echo across the cavern and turned just in time to get a laser beam to the face, distracting her long enough for Nightmare to climb to her feet and kick Fistina with her hind legs, catching her in the gut and sending her flying up into the air where she crashed down to the ground in front of Rook.

"Is little Rook real?" Fistina asked deliriously with a loving smile when she noticed where she had landed.

Rook gulped nervously; during their past encounters, Fistina had become quite . . . _attached_ to Rook, flirting with him as much as they traded blows with each other. The Revonnahgander found the seemingly loving gestures to be both disturbing and rather frightening, especially the time he had opened a box only to find a furious and incredibly hungry Gracklflint inside with a love letter from Fistinia that mostly consisted of kisses and hugs (and kisses).

"Uh, no." Rook gulped. "I am . . . merely a figment of your imagination."

Fistina grinned happily. "Little Rook can not fool Fistina so easily!" she smiled as she climbed to her feet and effortlessly grabbed Rook by the back of his neck and pulled him out of the hole he had been driven into, hugging him tightly and nearly crushing the air out of him before Nightmare slammed into her and sent her tumbling; Rook fell to the ground with a grunt, a relieve smile on his face as Nightmare let him use her neck and head as a support to help himself up.

"Never am I glad to have been partnered with such a magnificent horse." Rook sighed with relief; Nightmare smiled.

"Yeah! She'll look real perdy up on my mantel!" Rhomboid cackled as he cocked his blaster, having fully recovered from Rook's attempts to subdue him before. Just before he could fire though, a black mountain lion covered in a green circuit pattern pounced on him and knocked him down to the ground with a furious roar, digging his claws into the Vreedle's thick hide and pinning him to the ground until Rook tossed a rock at his head and knocked him out.

"Ship!" the mountain lion beeped as it morphed back into the form of a stallion, clopping over to Nightmare to nuzzle her affectionately; the shadow horse was more than happy to return the gesture until a sudden rattling sound caught their attentions.

"You may have beaten me," Looma yelled angrily as she pushed a rusted mine cart onto the old track that Frankie had been taken down. "But you haven't seen the last of me!" she roared over her shoulder as she gave the mine cart a final push and jumped in at the last second as the cart finally began to move and disappear into the darkness.

"Get in!" Rook yelled as he pushed another mine cart onto the track and hopped aboard; the two horses shared looks before galloping after the mine cart and jumping in just before the mine cart took off down the tracks, twisting and turning in the darkness as the metal wheels squealed loudly against the tracks.

* * *

"Let me go! Let me go!" Frankie screamed as she fought and struggled in her chair even louder.

"BRAWK! Lets get this done and over with!" Liam mumbled under his breath. "This kid's givin' me a headache."

"Agreed." Bubble Helmet grumbled as he and Liam climbed out of the abandoned mine cart they had found lying inside of the mine and taken to get a better lead on Shock Monkey and Sheriff Bloodgood; Frankie and screamed and cried the whole way, forcing the two criminals to try and cover their ears to block out the noise before finally giving up on it and decided to just bear with it until they reached the geyser. Watching their hostage plummet to her doom into a pool of scalding hot water would make it all worth it.

"Stop right there!" Bloodgood demanded as she tipped the mine cart she and her Gimlinopithecus partner had taken to catch up with the thugs.

"I'd do what she says, eh." Shock Monkey wanred as he cracked his knuckles. "She's tough; taken on a Sand Ripper by herself with her bare hands once, eh."

Liam scoffed as he and Bubble Helmet set Frankie down the ground and pulled out their weapons. "You serious? We toss their carcasses down here all the time!"

"Or we did until you showed up." Bubble Helmet growled as his metal rods lengthened and became longer as they hummed and warned up. "Now, it'll be the death bed of yer lil' friend!" he grunted as he spun his rods around in tight circles, firing off red hot lasers at a frightening speed as Bloodgood and Shock Monkey took cover behind their fallen mine cart, the sheriff occasionally returning fire.

"How do we get 'im _and_ save Frankie?" Shock Monkey grunted.

"Just how strong are you?" Bloodgood asked, an idea forming in her head.

"Not as Gun Slinger or Brawlasaurus, eh, but stronger you. Probably." the Gimlinopithecus shrugged his hairy shoulders.

"Then start hurlin' rocks." Bloodgood ordered as she shifted into a crouching position.

"What're _you_ gonna do, eh?" Shock Monkey frowned as he grunted and hauled up a sizable rock onto his shoulders and over his head.

"Throwing something else." Bloodgood smirked as she set her blaster down on the ground for a brief moment to place her hands on either side of her head and effortlessly pull her own head off of her shoulders with a simple twist; no blood or bones could be seen on either stumps, and Shock Monkey nearly dropped the rock in his hands on his foot when the head cleared its throat and waited patiently as its body bent down to take hold of its weapon.

"Whoever said 'mind over flesh' never met you." Shock Monkey chuckled as Bloodgood smiled, her cheeks turning a beet red before her body popped up and chucked her head straight Bubble Helmet as she screamed at the top of her lungs, despite no longer being attached to them; the caterpillar was so caught off and startled to see a screaming head that he dropped his weapons and stumbled backwards when the screaming head smashed into his helmet, knocking him back and then screaming down the mine shaft and into the geyser below as he lost his footing. Frankie winced when his dying screams faded away in the boiling water below and began to struggle against her bonds again, hopping forward and away from the edge as Liam continued to fire Shock Monkey and Bloodgood's body.

"Frankie!"

Frankie blinked and looked down to the ground, screaming with fright when she saw Bloodgood's disembodied head on the ground at her feet, clearly alive and breathing. "You scared me!" Frankie breathed.

"I know. It's a little creepy." Bloodgood admitted. "Now hold still while I try to bite through the ropes." Frankie nodded and moved her chair just enough to fall on her side and allow Bloodgood to viciously sink her teeth into the rope binding her hands behind the back of the chair, shaking her ehad from side to side as she slowly cut her way through the rope.

"What is going on here!?" Looma roared as she jumped out of her mine cart and hauled it up onto her shoulder, chucking it at Shock Monkey and Bloodgood's body, managing to strike the Gimlinopithecus in the chest and knock him down to the ground. The furious Tetramand leader was about to advance and chuck Frankie into the geyser when she noticed that Bloodgood's body was moving around by itself, firing off a blaster with perfect accuracy despite no longer having a head.

"Sweet mother of Zed!" looma screamed with fright before she was suddenly struck from behind as Rook, Nightmare, and Ship caught up to them in their own mine cart; unfortunately, they were going too fast to stop and continued right along the rails, collecting Shock Monkey, Bloodgood's body, head, Frankie, and Liam and hauling them all into the cart before it finally came to a stop just an inch away from the edge of the mine shaft below him, the air hot and moist from the scalding geyser below.

"No one. Move, eh." Shock Monkey barely breathed; the others, even Looma and Liam were not willing to argue and merely froze on the spot as Rook slowly and very careful reached for his Proto-Tool, intent on changing it into a grappling hook to hopefully give them a secure line to hang onto and drag themselves to safety.

Unfortunately, Liam had to sneeze.

"If we live through this, I am turning you into a chicken sandwich." Looma threatened as the cart teetered on the edge of the shaft for a second before finally going over the edge and plummeting down into the darkness with all eight of them screaming with fright at the top of their lungs as the small, dim circle of lantern light overhead got smaller and smaller until it disappeared all together plunged them into total darkness as the air around them became thick with heat and moisture to the point where it became almost choking. The eight of them all gasped for breath as they sweated horrible, Shock Monkey, Rook, and Liam more so than the others until they finally stopped falling and landed in the geyser below with a loud _ker-splash!_

"Are we . . . alive?" Frankie's sounded small and frail in the darkness.

"Great! That means I get to make Liam lunch!" Looma's voice came from somewhere in the darkness, followed quickly by Liam's panicked squawks and cries for help.

"Do these not erupt at a certain time?" Rook wondered as a low, steady rumble met their ears.

"Ya had ta jinx us." Shock Monkey grumbled under his breath as the mine cart they were all in rattled and shook loudly before suddenly skyrocketing back up the shaft on a jet of boiling hot water with its terrified passengers all screaming and hanging onto each other for dear life as they soared up through the air, higher and igher through the darkness until they actually passed the point where they had entered before and continued traveling upward, going higher and higher until Bloodgood could have sworn that she was seeing things when she thought she saw actual daylight. It turned out that she wasn't hallucinating and the mine shaft actually went up high enough to open up out of the top of one of Khoro's tall and craggy mountains, sending the mine cart and all eight of its passengers high into the air before they came plummeting back down towards the planet's surface, screaming as was custom to such events, until they slammed into the earth below them with a loud _crash!_

"Everyone alright, eh?" Shock Monkey groaned as he sat up, sighing with relief when he found that Frankie had been lucky enough to land on his stomach and not on the rocky ground beneath him; he looked around and saw Rook draped over the practically destroyed remains of the mine cart, moaning and with the wind knocked out of him but otherwise fine while Ship and Nightmare staggered to their hooves, letting the other use them as something to support themselves on their shaky legs with. Liam was found slumped next to a large boulder, unconsciousness and occasionally murmuring something about ketchup and steak sauce in his feverish sleep; Bloodgood and Looma however were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, geez!" the Gimlinopithecus cried when he saw Bloodgood lying sprawled out on the scorching sand beneath him, unconscious and limp on the ground as Looma climbed to her feet and pulled a small, concealed blaster from the inside of her vest, a determined look on her face as she gritted her teeth.

"You've cost me my men, you've cost me my hostage, you cost me my loot!" Looma listed off angrily. "And now yer finally gonna pay!" she seethed as she aimed the blaster at Bloodgood's head with a maddening smile on her face.

"NO!" Shock Monkey cried as he tossed Frankie off of him and rushed across the rock, jumping through the air as every last hair on his body stood on end from the sheer amount of electricity traveling throughout his body as he slammed his hands together fired off a concentrated beam of electricity at Looma, succeeding in knocking the gun out of her hands before he fired off a second, more intense beam that struck her right in the chest and sent her flying a couple feet across the sands; the Gimlinopithecus landed right next to Bloodgood and hauled her onto his shoulders as he took one last glance at Looma while she staggered to her feet again, a furious and insane look on her face.

"Any last words before I kill you!?" she roared as she picked up her fallen gun and pointed it straight at Shock Monkey's head.

"Just three, actually." Shock Monkey said, stealing a quick look behind the Tetramand. "Look behind you, eh." he warned before he bent his legs and launched himself back up onto the safety of the rocks; before Looma could wonder what he meant, the sand beneath her exploded in a red cloud of chaos as a gigantic Sand Ripper the size of half a dozen Pyroxivors breached out of the blistering sands of Khoros, catching Looma in its jaws like a fish snapping up a buzzing fly, before plummeting back down into the sands, taking Looma with it as she screamed in anger, horror, pain, and defeat.

"Yeesh. What a way ta go, eh." Shock Monkey gulped as he set Bloodgood down on the ground just before the Omnitrix timed out; Ben was suddenly slammed into from behind as Frankie hugged him tightly, squeezing him like a python would its prey while she said "thank you" over and over in such a quick succession that Ben had a hard time figuring out if it was just one long sentence or not.

"Ugh. What happened?" Bloodgood groaned as she slowly came too, her eye flickering open as she sat up and rubbed her throbbing skull; Frankie promptly launched herself at Bloodgood and fastened herself around the woman's waist, hugging her tightly and nearly cutting off her oxygen supply before Ben managed to pry her off. "Where's Looma!?" Bloodgood demanded once she noticed the Tetramand's absence.

"Sleepin' with the Sand Rippers." Ben replied with a slight shiver down his spine.

"What a way ta go." Bloodgood nodded grimly as she climbed to her feet, wincing at the pain in her chest and right arm as she hissed nearly collapsed to her knees before Ben managed to catch her and help her fully stand up.

"Geez, you sure took a hit back there." Ben smiled with amusement. "You sure you lost your eye to a Sand Ripper?"

"As sure as you can change into aliens with that there fancy watchamacallit on ya wrist." Bloodgood grinned.

"Omnitrix." Ben corrected.

"Whatever."

* * *

The ride back to the settlement was a long one, but not without amusement; once they had all caught their breath and were sure that nothing important had been injured or broken, they had returned to the hide out and rounded up the remaining outlaws, tying them up with Bloodgood's lasso to drag behind them and use as Sand Ripper bait, much to Frankie's joy. The stolen loot the crooks had stolen through their various crimes had been taken back to the colony once Ben had managed to pull up the picture of a long extinct _Diplodocus_ on his badge for the Galvanic Mechamorph to morph into and imitate, allowing for all of the stolen loot to be recovered and taken back to the settlement all at once and redistributed to the proper owners.

Frankie's parents had been ecstatic upon seeing their daughter return home safe and sound with only scraps on her elbows and knees to prove that the entire adventure had happened in the first place. Not that Frankie couldn't stop talking about it; she had recounted the entire mishap to her mother and father all in one long rattled string of excitement before Bloodgood, Rook, and Ben had to retell the entire tale in a more slow and controlled manner for Viktor and Viveka to fully understand what had happened.

As an added bonus, they had found massive stockpiles of stolen weapons hidden in the mine shafts of Looma's hideout, completing both Ben and Rook's purpose of visiting Khoros and identifying Looma's gang as the culprits of the mass smuggling ring; as it also turned out, Looma had actually been the reining state's princess, the House of Redwind, which made her death all the more tragic and disgusting all the same, though Warlord Gar was thought to have been shedding a few tears upon hearing about the death of his tyrannical daughter (he couldn't have been prouder).

This unfortunately meant that Ben and Rook would be leaving Khoros.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Bloodgood sighed as she watched Rook lead Ship into the back of the Proto-WAGN after saying good-bye to Nightmare and convincing the love struck Galvanic Mechamorph to follow after the promise of letting him siphon off a small amount of the Proto-WAGN's energy supply if he cooperated.

"Have to, I'm afraid," Ben shook his head sadly. "We be like tumbleweeds; always goin' where the wind takes us and where it needs us most."

A suddenly shudder and crash caught their attention and they turned to see the Proto-WAGN tremble and rattle for a few seconds before collapsing into a pile of scrap metal and parts, much to Rook's horror; Ship whinnied and backed out of the remains, his eye pinched up into what Ben could only assume to a triumphant and amused smile as he eagerly trotted back over to Nightmare and nuzzled her lovingly.

"That is one smart horse." Bloodgood blinked.

"I should've named him 'Trouble'." Ben joked, earning a laugh from both him and Bloodgood until the later of the two of them winced and held her throbbing, bandaged chest; she had managed to bruise a few ribs during their small geyser ride and was lucky enough to not suffer any other side effects other than a broken wrist that had been shattered upon hitting an annoying rock. "Better take it easy." he warned her. "Then again, I suspect me an' Rook'll be here a couple more days while he fixes the Proto-WAGN."

"Good." Bloodgood smiled as she felt her face heat up and not from the intense heat. "That means I can finally do this." she smiled before bending down to press her lips to Ben's, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders and holding him place as she kissed him for a few more seconds before finally releasing him.

"Sphinx . . ." Ben breathed. "What was that for?"

"What, I can't kiss the boy I love?" Bloodgood teased, only confusing Ben even further. "Just as I've inspired you, kid, you've inspired me. Just like I'm your hero, you're mine, too."

"But . . . I'm only eighteen . . . how old are you?" Ben gaped.

"Little over two centuries," Bloodgood shrugged. "Hasn't stopped me from dating younger men before."

"I can imagine," Ben grumbled under his breath. "But, Bloodgood, what'll others say if'in they hear about us?"

"I don't care." Bloodgood frowned. "And you can called me Grace."

"Gracce." Ben tested the name out in his mouth. "Beautiful name fer a beautiful girl."

"See? That there's why I likes ya." Bloodgood blushed as she scooped Ben up in her arms and pulled him close to her, softly pressing her lips to his as she cuddled up to him and felt his hands briefly glide over her breasts as he reached up his arms around her neck, pulling her deeper into the kiss as he bravely traced her plump lips with his tongue before jamming it into her oral cavity, startling her slightly before her eyes screwed up in amusement and she decided to play along, colliding her own tongue against Ben's and wrestling it into submission, much like she had done to the Sand Ripper whose teeth were currently sitting around her neck in a decorative necklace; before the long, the two had to break away for oxygen as Bloodgood set Ben back down on the ground, their faces both rosy red.

Especially when they learned Frankie had seen the whole thing.

"Bloodgood loves Ben! Bloodgood loves Ben!" she cried childishly. "Ben and Bloodgood sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I . . . uh, what comes next?" she wondered.

"Never you mind." Ben shook his head as he slipped his fingers into Bloodgood's. "Why dontcha come with us? I'll teach ya how ta play Crazy Eights." he offered; Frankie nodded eagerly and swiftly took Ben's other hand as the three of them walked to the settlements saloon while Rook mourned over the remains of his Proto-WAGN.

* * *

Cupid blinked as the final image of the crystal ball faded away into nothingness before the ball went dead, going into something the young deity could only compare to the recharge mode of her Mirrorphone when it was low on battery life; what kind of battery, if any, the crystal ball ran on was a mystery to her though. Rather, she was more focused on what she had seen.

She had seen a shy, jungle girl to fruitlessly woo Ben by enhancing her own appearance to hopefully attract her desired love before she realized that she was fine just the way she was; she had seen the Queen of Mean herself became dangerous putty in Ben's hands as she held control over Monster High with an iron paw with Ben ready by her side to cause as much havoc as he kissed his love; what quickly followed had been a somewhat disturbing view of Ben being kidnapped and practically sexually assaulted before he managed to turn things around in his favor once more like he always did; she had seen Ben fight for the ghoul he had always loved against someone who hardly cared for what the ghoul thought of him as Ben fought for his love and her honor; and then she had just seen Ben go to great lengths to protect and save the woman he loved, while he was but a mere child compared to her. Yet love had somehow managed to cross that border again.

She didn't know what was more exciting or mysterious to watch: love at its most raw and affectionate or Ben at his most powerful and interesting.

"Hey, Cupid." a seductive voice purred.

Cupid shuddered upon hearing that voice against her ears and turned to see Kitty Cheshire, Daughter of the Cheshire Cat materialize out of thin air in the seat next to her, a crafty and cheeky smile on her lips that sent shivers down Cupid's spine. "What do you want, Kitty?" she asked, trying to sound kind.

"Oh, nothing much." Kitty innocently as she tapped her chin. "I just couldn't help but notice your shiny ball . . ."

"It's nothing! Just a family heirloom!" Cupid said all too quickly; she paled when Kitty's smile only broadened as she moved to sit on top of the table, "absentmindedly" walking her fingers towards the crystal ball as she talked.

"Really? Can I just . . . have a peek?" she asked innocently.

Cupid gulped and felt her blood run cold as she very faintly nodded, hoping that the crafty calico wouldn't notice it; unfortunately for her, Kitty did as she eagerly snatched up the ball in her grip and disappeared in her usual manner of a flash of bright sparkles, leaving nothing but her laughing smile behind for a few seconds before it took vanished and left Cupid alone in the Castleteria.

"Oh, no." Cupid gulped.

 **And there we go!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this alternate version of Ben and Monster High as much I liked creating it! I'll admit, this is fun to write about crazy and weird alternate dimensions involving the characters I love; of course, it never hurts to return to the classics or where it all started, but those can be saved for different ghouls than what I have in mind.**

 **But of course, you wonderful readers will get to chose who is paired with Ben next! Will it be Gooliope Jellington? Another Lagoona Blue chapter? Casta Fierce? Frankie Stein? Maybe even . . . _Cupid!?_ Whoever the lucky ghoul is, you decide! So head on over to my profile and get votin' already! Come on, don't be shy!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	17. Big Top Love

**_Chaírete_ , everyone! Welcome back to _Cupid's Crystal Ball_ , all you man-sters and ghouls out there!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Gooliope Jellington!**

 **Yay! One of my favorite ghouls!**

 **Now, like with the last few chapters, this one will also take place in an alternate universe, so be patient for those of that wish for things to be taken back home! I intend to bring things back to Monster High every now and again, but these alternate universes with Ben and the ghouls are fun to write and I believe a lot of you can agree. Also, Gooliope will be far bigger than she is depicted as, about as big as Humungousaur when he's fully grown from his size-changing ability, making her roughly 60 ft tall. Big ghoul, I know.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onward!**

"Hey, freak! Do something already!"

Gooliope didn't move as she sat against the side of her small cage, the cold, iron bars pressing into her warm, pink skin as she moved her fingers slightly, rubbing them together to avoid getting pins and needles; she had been called far worse in her sixteen years on this world. She wished she could stop counting at sixteen, but everyday she would be able to count off another day to be alive and not dead. That would have been a blessing a _long_ time ago.

The small crowd of people that had gathered at her cage grumbled and mumbled with annoyance as they starred at her, waiting for her to do something interesting; the monkey boy next to her had told jokes while hanging by his tail from a trapeze from the roof of his cage and the Boogie Girl in the cage before that had played a small game of hide and seek with the small audience, popping in and out of the shadows in her brightly lit cage much to the younger children's delight and laughter.

Gooliope however, did nothing but sit there in her cage, simply breathing in and out and mentally counting off the seconds it would take before the crowd of people finally left her alone; she had given up long ago on doing anything interesting, having been at the circus the longest. Not that she could really do anything else but sit and try to look interesting in the small, crapped cage that made her size a disadvantage; she was bigger than both of the circus's elephants combined and her head often scrapped the top of the main tent whenever she jumped. Regular clothes stopped fitting her after she grew about as big as one of the colorful big cat cages that the loud crowds of people often stopped and admired on their way to the big top, meaning all of her clothes had to be composed out of bits and odds and ends found lying around the circus that she managed to scrap together; her short dress, made out of an old, tattered circus tent, didn't even reach her knees and her pink pumps were composed out of leftover bits and pieces from the circus's old, broken carousel. Her earrings were made out of broken carriage wheels, her headpiece was composed out of the old pipes of the circus's ancient pipe organ, and her barely held together top was fashioned from an old tarp that smelled like rotting corn dogs.

"C'mon already!" another voice from the crowd whined.

"Psst! Gooliope!"

The goo monster just barely moved her head to roll her eyes back and look at the monkey boy in the cage next to her, Mr. Bananas being his stage name; Gooliope knew him simply as George. He was, compared to her, tiny and about as big as a small dog even though he was just a little shorter than an average man; he moved with a slight hunch as his knuckles dragged on the ground, occasionally being used to help him move along as a long, monkey's tail dragged out behind him from a slit in his ragged, denim shorts.

"You better do something quick! The crowd's getting' antsy!" George whispered.

"What's the point?" Gooliope whispered back.

"You'll get fired!" George hissed.

"That's what I want," Gooliope replied. "First thing I'm gonna do when Zombozo fires me is kill myself; maybe the afterlife will be better than this."

"Come on, Gooliope, don't be like that!" George pleaded.

"I'm not changing my mind." Gooliope said firmly; a member of the small crowd gathered in front of her cage finally got sick of waiting and threw his cup of soda at her through the bars, hitting the side of her massive head and staining her gold and pink locks a messy purple; other members of the audience got in the ideas and started hurling peanuts and popcorn at her, yelling for her to do something. To Gooliope, the words didn't exist and scarenvil food being thrown at her felt like flies that sometimes got stuck on her sticky skin. Eventually, the crowd accepted that she wasn't going to do anything and moved down farther into the tent to gawk at Howleen as she ran around her cage and howled like a dog.

Once she was sure the crowd was gone, Gooliope finally did move, her movements fluid and graceful as she gently picked the peanuts and popcorn out of her skin and off of her clothes, grimacing at the dried stains that covered her clothes and at the fresh purple stain on her top; a new one to add to the collection. She drew in a sharp breath and shifted herself a little more towards the front of her cage, allowing George to reach through the bars and start picking the popcorn and peanuts off of her back, a behavior the half-breed felt compelled to do out of his heritage. Plus, picking bits of food off of Gooliope provided him with an extra meal, more than what the ringmaster and their owner often fed him.

"Gooliope? Are you feeling alright?" Twyla asked as she stepped out of one of the shadows of Gooliope's cage; she wore her greasy, pastel green hair was done up in a curly bun and she wore a ripped ruffle around her neck in addition to the single, cyan colored dress covered in black spider patterns and a second ruffle around her waist. Pale makeup decorated her face, creating a bright, friendly exterior compared to Twyla's usual depressed manner.

"Not really, no." Gooliope shook her head. "Shouldn't you in your cage though?"

"I was more concerned about you." Twyla said.

"She's trying to get fired so she can kill herself." George spoke up before sampling a peanut. "Mmm. Delicious." he noted.

Twyla's calm demeanor suddenly turned hostile as she took a step back into the shadows behind her before popping back out of one and onto Gooliope's gigantic shoulder, smacking the goo monster's cheek; Gooliope didn't even feel it as she rolled her eyes around to look at the Boogie Girl. "Don't think like that, Goo!" Twyla scolded her.

"Why shouldn't I? It would be better than this." Gooliope sighed, her shoulders heaving and nearly tossing Twyla off of her.

"Just because we don't live the glamorous lifestyle everyone thinks we do, doesn't mean you should kill yourself." Twyla shook her head.

"For moaning out loud, Twyla, we steal! We rob every town we perform in blind! We-" Gooliope started to yell before Twyla muttered a quick apology and slugged the goo monster in the eye, silencing her immediately.

"What was that for!?" Gooliope hissed.

"You nearly gave away the boss's plan!" George rasped from behind her, pausing in his grooming before he jumped up onto the bars, clinging to the cold, metal rods with his opposable feet and tail to reach higher.

"You don't feel guilty?" Gooliope growled.

"Of course I do!" George hissed. "But if stealin' provides me with a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and some kind of food on my plate, then I'll steal the Moan-a Lisa if I have to!"

Twyla sighed and sat down on Gooliope's shoulder. "I don't like it anymore than you do, Goo, he's gotta point; where in the world is there a place for freaks, _monsters_ like us?" she wondered. "Besides, Zombozo won't let us go so easily. As long as your as big as a house, I can travel through shadows, and George can shimmy up a pole, we'll be crooks for the undead brute."

"Yeah, and his three cronies aren't makin' things easier." George grumbled as he sampled some popcorn.

"Alright, alright, everyone outta the tent!"

"Speak of the devil." Twyla sighed as she bid George and Gooliope good-bye and slipped back into the shadows to reappear back in her cage as if she had never left; stomping down the aisle was Thumbskull in all of his twisted, ugly glory pushing a large crate on a dolly with Frightwig and Acid Breath by his side, venomous grins on their faces as the small crowd in the tent flinched and quickly left the freaks inside alone.

Thumbskull was an animal of a man, about the size of a gigantic gorilla and with the IQ of a rock just as big; he had pale, grey skin and snake-like eyes, along with what could only be described as a giant fingernail on his small, box-like head. He had a single, large toe on each foot and only two digits on each hand, one small thumb and a massive finger with a gigantic fingernail while he he wore a skintight black body suit.

Frightwig was a small, thin woman compared to the all brawn no brains Thumbskull, with a slim, feminine figure, sickly pale skin, and two long, orange pigtails with six, orange tentacles at the end tipped with tough, metal balls that could punch clean through a brick wall; Gooliope had seen her do it, too. She wore a black, tight-fitting jumpsuit that exposed her midriff and and slender shoulders with arm bands on each of her arms that ended in black, finger-less gloves.

If the other two members of the Circus Freak Trio were repulsive to look at compared to other humans, Acid Breath would have been the equivalent of Medusa with a look so horrifying that it would have turned you to stone if his toxic breath didn't kill you first; his eyes were crooked, one a frightening scarlet and the other a piercing black and he had pale, wrinkly skin with only two, greasy strands of black hair on his bald head. He was practically a walking skeleton compared to Frightwig and he wore a skintight black body suit with yellow stripes on his arms, a slight hunch in his back, and very few teeth left over in his head as a whisp of toxic breath escaped his nonexistent lips and rose up towards the top of the tent, effortlessly eating a hole through the fabric.

"Alright, you freaks of nature. Meet ya newest member." Acid Breath rasped; Thumbskull set the dolly down on the ground and thumped a gigantic fist on top of the crate, cracking the front open and letting it fall to the ground like a door. The small number of monsters and freaks within the tent all turned their attention towards the crate, waiting for something to happen before a pale hand moved out into the light.

"Hey, waita minute! That's a _human!_ " Howleen snarled, pointing an accusing finger between the bars of her cage; the werewolf had shaggy, dark pink hair that hung over her face, covering her crisp, yellow eyes and sharp fangs as she wore a red hood and cloak over herself, hiding a tight black leotard over her slim figure.

"Is that a problem, _wolf?_ " Frightwig frowned, narrowing her eyes at Howleen and raising her dexterous locks up into the air in a threatening manner; the werewolf whimpered like a puppy and backed away from the bars of her cage, a triumphant smirk crossing Frightwig's face.

The hand inside the crate moved around, gripping the side of the box as another hand emerged into the low light of the tent, a strange watch with a white band and black face plate with two green stripes that formed an hourglass shape; the boy himself, a human as Howleen claimed, had scruffy, brown hair that hung heavy and loose over his face, shielding his sharp green eyes as they flickered around nervously and took in his surroundings. He wore a skin tight black suit with green trimming, a green belt and a white number ten on his chest.

"C'mon, kid. In ya go." Thumbskull grunted as he grabbed the boy by the back of his neck and lifted him off of the ground; Acid Breath slipped out a key from his sleeve and slipped it into the lock of the cage next to Gooliope, a space only about as big as a large closet, and opened the door for Thumbskull to toss the poor boy in before slamming the door shut behind them.

"Enjoy your stay, brat. Show's in ten minutes." Frightwig scoffed over her shoulder as she and the rest of the Circus Freak Trio left the Side Show tent. All was silent for a few minutes, as if everyone in the tent were afraid that they would be heard by the Circus Freaks, before any one of them spoke up.

"So, kid? What's your name?" George spoke up, climbing up the bars of his cage to peer over Gooliope's shoulder and get a better look at the human boy.

"My . . . name is Ben. Ben Tennyson." the boy answered.

Howleen shook her head sadly. "Kid, in this gig, last name's don't matter anymore. All anyone cares about is your real name, your stage name, and whatever trick you can perform."

"Yeah . . . I know." Ben sighed.

"Name's George," the monkey boy introduced himself. "I'm called 'The Missing Link' and I do an act with the clowns." he added, his tail flickering back and forth as he caught sight of a piece of popcorn he had missed on Gooliope's shoulder and picked it up before popping it in his mouth.

"I'm Twyla." the Boogie Girl continued, vanishing into the shadows of her brightly lit cage to then flash into existence in Ben's cage, coming out of the shadows to lean against the bars of the enclosure. "I go by 'The Shadow Demon' and do a fear act where I kidnap several members of the audience before letting them go back to their seats; it's better than it sounds." she added when she caught sight of Ben's apprehensive look.

"I'm Howleen," the werewolf spoke up. "I do an act with the lion tamer and big cats, make a big show of chasing the lions and tigers around the ring." she explained with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"And I'm Gooliope." the goo monster finished, her movements limited yet somehow graceful in the confined space of the cage she called home. "I mostly just stand in the ring and let people look at me before we do the grand finale."

"Who's he?" Ben wondered, pointing farther down the aisle at another monster in the tent that had been quiet ever since Ben had arrived; the boy was a pale, purple creature with pointed ears like that of a deer's with a tight, angular face and sweeping, dark purple hair that hung in greasy locks over his face. He had a short goatee and curious, yellow eyes in addition to the small antlers on his head and fangs that curved up over his top lip; he wore a light, leather vest and a pair of ragged shorts with patchwork patches in the knees where they had been worn away, and a heavy, metal collar around his neck.

"Him? That's Andy." George replied. "He doesn't talk much. Just, whatever you do, don't make him angry."

"Why?" Ben wondered

"Just trust us on this one." Gooliope sighed. "So, what do you do?"

Ben flickered around nervously, as if expecting something or someone to suddenly jump out at him and attack him without mercy. "Uh . . . is there anyone else around?" he asked nervously.

"Nobody here but us monsters. And you." Howleen added coldly.

"Sorry." Ben apologized. "it's just . . . I wasn't allowed to transform without my master's permission."

"Transform?" Twyla quirked an eyebrow.

"It's . . . easier to experience than see." Ben explained as he sucked in a deep breath to calm his rattled nerves before he raised the arm with that ever mysterious watch-like device on it before he tapped it and waited as a shimmering, green hologram lit up his face, striking curiosity in the others inside of the tent; the boy pressed the finger to the watch face, holding it down as the hologram moved and rotated he seemed to select something and waited as the face plate rolled back to reveal a button of some kind.

"Just . . . don't freak out, okay?" Ben pleaded.

"Kid, we're freaks. Nothing freaks us out." George scoffed.

Ben nodded and pressed down on the waiting activation button, bathing the tent in a sudden burst of bright, green light while the others watched with shock and amazement as his DNA was scrambled and warped, turned into something new the world hadn't ever seen before in all its days. Deep, orange fur sprouted all over his body, as if a bomb filled with hair had suddenly exploded inside of him and forced all of the fur to the surface of his skin; his skull ground and cracked as his lower jaw thrust outwards into a massive under bite, his canine teeth growing huge and perfect for ripping through flesh while patches of skin grew over his eyes and sent him into a world of darkness as they eventually became no longer useful and withered away, fresh bone replacing the gaping holes that had previous been his eye sockets. His ears melted back into his head, becoming little more than mounds of skin that became useless as a row of slits opened on his thickening neck, forming into gill-like structures. His shoulders and arms swelled with tissue and muscle as he was forced down onto them like a second pair of legs, his fingernails ripping through his fingers as they turned into menacing, sharp claws. His leg bones cracked and snapped loudly as they were forced into the hind leg structure like that of a dog as a patch of sharp, pointed quills formed on his back between his shoulder blades; a thick, green collar appeared around Ben's neck as the Omnitrix appeared in a sudden burst of green light, completing the transformation.

"That's new." Howleen remarked as Wildmutt let out a low, hoarse roar that reverberated through the air. The Vulpimancer snarled and sat down on its haunches, scratching himself with one of his hind legs before bedding down to rest his head on his paws.

"What the Sphinx is that thing?" George wondered; Wildmutt growled and bellowed slightly, as if he were giving a full answer. The rest of the Side Show Freaks however, just starred at him blankly, though Howleen seemed to have understood a few words.

"He says he's an alien." Howleen explained.

"You understand that thing?" George raised an eyebrow.

"Only a few words." the werewolf said. "It's kinda like listening to my brothers and sisters. You know, before I ran away."

"Someone needs braces." Twyla marveled at Wildmutt's huge canines.

"So, can you just turn into the one mutt or are there other freaks in that watch of yours?" George wondered.

"Anything in there that could put me out of my misery?" Gooliope sighed, earning a look from Twyla and George; the Vulpimancer made several grunts and growls before adding a couple hand gestures as well.

"He says there are more," Howleen translated. "He also wants to know why Gooliope's intent on dying."

Gooliope was about to reply when the flap to the Side Show tent was pushed aside with the rustling of fabric; Twyla quickly jumped back into the shadows to reappear in her cage as the Omnitrix timed out seconds afterwards and returned Ben back to the world in a burst of green light; stepping through the tent was a man that made every single one of the freaks in the tent cringe when their eyes set upon his toothy, cheeky smile and pale face underneath a worn and tattered top hat. He wore a purple and cyan pinstripe suit and a pair of large, black clown shoes along with black finger-less gloves; part of his suit was torn away to reveal aged rib bones and his painted face was peeled and rotting.

"Well, now. What do we have here?" Zombozo asked rhetorically when he caught Twyla flashing back into her cage out of the corner of his small, beady eyes. With a frightening speed that made Ben startle with surprise, the zombie clown extended his arms almost half a dozen feet through the bars of the cage before grabbing Twy;a roughly by the front of her shirt and yanking her towards him, slamming her painfully into the cold, iron bars of her cage; the Boogie Girl cried out as she slumped to the ground, holding her bleeding nose as the rest of the Side Show Freaks flinched, not daring to make a sound.

"Wait until you have enough vacation days to take a trip!" Zombozo cackled before pulling a ring of keys from his pocket and slipping one into the lock of Twyla's cage to let her out before moving onto George's cage to let him lose too. "Five minutes to show time, people! Don't disappoint me!" he ordered as the freaks were let out one by one and quietly trudged out of the tent.

"Excuse me? Mr. Zombozo?" Ben spoke up. "Wh-What do I do? I wasn't told what to do for an act."

The zombie clown turned around to glare at the human boy before his expression brightened into an eerily creepy smile that did nothing to calm Ben's nerves. "Surprise me, boy. Make it a real show stopper." he grinned. "Knock 'em dead!" he added, laughing manically as he unlocked Ben's cage before then moving onto Gooliope.

"Come on, get up you over-sized jelly stain!" he snapped; Gooliope didn't move for a few minutes before she finally shifted her arms to drop down to the ground and haul herself up a little bit as she moved to crawl on her hands and knees to slip out of her cage, climbing into a hunched position once she was in the tent before finally stretching up to her full height once she was out in the open air.

"Hey, kid!" Zombozo called out, catching Ben's attention as he walked next to Gooliope, not even reaching her knee as he turned around.

"Halfway through the show, meet up with the Circus Freaks," Zombozo ordered. "I gotta job for ya."

* * *

Ben sat quietly in the back of the clown car he and the rest of the Circus Freak Trio had cramped themselves into, the vehicle actually being surprisingly much more roomier on the inside than on the outside; no wonder they were able to fit so many clowns in there at once. Currently however, it only held Thumbskull at the wheel, Acid Breath in the passenger seat, and he and Frightwig in the back together, the mutant lady not saying a word to him as she brushed her flexible hair with a brush.

"So . . . where are we going?" Ben asked after a while.

"Normally, we'd smack ya fer being such an idiot, but since it's your first night, we're gonna cut ya some slack just this once, kid." Acid Breath hissed from the front seat.

"How come Thumbskull gets away with being an idiot?" Ben wondered.

"Because he was dropped on his head so many times as a kid that the boss doesn't think it's funny anymore." Frightwig sighed. "Alright, kid. Tonight, we're going on a crime spree; snatch anything and everything of value that won't trace back ta us. Understand?" she narrowed her eyes at him, as if daring him to try and _not_ understand.

"I-I . . . understand." Ben gulped nervously.

"Good." Frightwig growled. "'Cause it's time ta get started; we got a set amount of time before we have to head back to the big top for our performance."

"How long do gots before da boss gets mad at us?" Thumbskull wondered.

"Twenty minutes. Shorter than the last time," Acid Breath. "He's trying to cover our tracks. You've been getting' too sloppy."

"Says the guy with breath bad enough to liquidate a tank." Frightwig grumbled under her breath as the clown car came to a stop before the engine went silent; the three Circus Freaks climbed out of the car with Ben following after a few seconds, taking in the fresh night air and looking around at his surroundings. It had been so long since he was truly able to step out into the outside world without performing in front of people. Granted, he would be committing crimes and theft, and he was not comfortable with that in the slightest, but he didn't have much choice. The Side Show life was the only life he had ever known, and if he screwed up now, he might never find another life to live. That, or be sold to some other master that might have been far crueler than his previous ones; the scars and bruises that marked his suit underneath his outfit were enough proof for that.

"C'mon, kid! We're burning moonlight!" Acid Breath snapped angrily before he sucked in a deep breath and let out a cloud noxious gas from his mouth, chuckling slightly when the corrosive breath swiftly ate away at the roof of a car and allowed him to reach inside and pull out the car's radio with some effort before he rooted through the glove box and came back out with a small amount of cash; Frightwig skillfully moved her dexterous locks and jammed the hard, metal tips into the brick wall surrounding an ATM before yanking it clean out of the side of the building, releasing hundreds of dollar bills into the breeze that she quickly picked up with her hairy tentacles and stuffed into a burlap sack.

Ben turned on the Omnitrix and cycled through the available transformations before selecting a suitable transformation and pressing down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a burst of green light. His skeleton ground and crunched until he was only a third of his original height, his skull as three, fin-like growths split out from the bone, two pairs of fleshy growths appearing on either side of his face as his eyes grew wide and turned fully green. His arms only became slightly more muscled then before, widening into long claws as two metallic knobs appeared on his arms; a green and black jumpsuit with black patches on his ankles and under arms appeared on his body as a black belt with three knobs materialized on it. His skin turned a pale white as his toes were reduced to three, cat-like digits as the Omnitrix appeared on his forehead.

"Well, you know what they say; many hands make light work!" Ditto cracked as he effortlessly divided himself into a dozen Splixson clones; only Thumbskull seemed to find the joke mildly amusing before he was shut up by hostile glares from Acid Breath and Frightwig.

"Get ta work, kid!" Acid Breath snapped. "Or you'll end up like that car!" he threatened, jerking a thumb behind him at the half melted car he had just robbed.

"Gah! You heard 'im, guys! Hop to it!" a Ditto clone yelped; the Splixsons all scurried about in a somewhat panicked manner, crashing into each other and running around in circles before they managed to organize themselves and split off into four groups of three. A trio of Splixson clones approached the door of a locked jewelry store , standing on top of each other to check the doors just to be sure before the top clone split in two.

"Alright, guys! On the count of three!" a clone said as the three of them grabbed the recently made Splixson horizontally above the ground.

"Uh, guys? What's going on?" he asked. "How're we going to get into the bank?"

"Use your head." a second clone replied with a small smirk as the group charged forward at the door.

"But I don't wanna use my head!" the clone that was being used as a battering ram screamed just as the four Splixson clones smashed through the glass door; the four of them all yelped in pain as more cries of agony sounded from outside as they all instinctively clapped their hands over their throbbing heads.

It was then that they heard the alarm.

"Gah! Quick, grab as much loot as you can carry and run for it!" one of the clones cried before splitting himself into half a dozen more helpers and sending them off to plunder and pillage the store, grabbing as much jewelry and precious gems as they could before scurrying back out into the street to find the Circus Freaks throwing whatever loot they had managed to grab before the alarm sounded into the trunk of the clown car before hopping in themselves.

"C'mon, brat! Pull yourself together!" Acid Breath yelled. "Or we'll leave ya to the cops!"

" _RUN!_ " Ditto screamed; a small crowd of Splixsons ran for the waiting door of the car, scrambling over each other to dive into the back seat; the last one just barely made it in before the sound of police sirens cut through the main street as Thumbskull stomped on the gas and the Omnitrix timed out, morphing all of the Ditto clones back into one before Ben emerged into the world, flinching under the angry glare of the Circus Freaks.

"Sorry?" he said sheepishly before he was suddenly slugged across the face by one of the metal balls at the tip of Frightwig's hair; Ben could have sworn he lost a tooth or had broken his jaw as the car sped down the road and away from the approaching cops.

"Smoke screen!" Thumbskull announced. Acid Breath nodded and rolled down the window on the passenger seat before leaning his head out and sucking in a deep breath to breath out another noxious, green cloud of corrosive gas at the speeding squad cars, successfully melting the first two and sending their officers flying and rolling across the streets while the rest continued to give chase.

"Hey, on! Let me help!" Ben said as he tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster.

"Haven't you help enough tonight!?" Frightwig growled.

Ben didn't listen as he slammed down on the activation button on the Omnitrix, swallowing himself in a second flash of green light as his DNA was scrambled and rearranged into something new. His skin suddenly exploded into patterns of the prime colors, red, blue, and yellow, racing and dancing over his body until it looked like a paint truck had exploded on him. His bones cracked and crunched nosily as they fused together with his skin and muscles, forming a tough, durable substance as his feet hardened into firm cubes while the rest of his body became square and blocky in shape. The number of digits on his hands were reduced to four as his jaw thrust outwards and bony knobs formed all along his body, the transformation completing as the Omnitrix formed on his chest.

"What the- not the time for a new guy, Omnitrix!" the Segmentasapien gripped.

"What do you mean 'new guy'!?" Acid Breath snarled.

"What, you think there aren't any surprises left in this thing!?" the Segmentasapien growled; Frightwig hissed and bashed his face in with her dexterous locks, startling slightly when his face fully reformed with a loud clattering sound as if nothing had ever happened. "That's new." the alien noted as he touched his face.

"I hate to break up the tea party, ladies, but we've kinda got trouble!" Acid Breath yelled.

"On it!" the Segmentasapien saluted as he raised a fist and punched a hole clean through the roof of the clown car before slipping both of his over-sized fists through the hole and widening it with the loud shrieking of metal, much to the Circus Freaks' annoyance while he climbed up onto the roof to face the pursuing police cars. With a grunt, the Segmentasapien decided to try a short experiment and watched as his arms shifted and morphed into two gun barrels as two rows of exploding blocks lined themselves up with the weapons and hooked onto his back. "Oh, yeah! I'm callin' this guy Bloxx!" he declared as he fired off two pieces of his body at the upcoming police cars, wincing with surprise when the two blocks suddenly exploded, sending one of the cars screaming into a fire hydrant.

"Keep shootin', kid!" Acid Breath yelled up to Bloxx as he leaned his head out of the car window and let another disgusting cloud of acidic breath fly out the window and block the authorities' view as the clown car screeched around a tight corner and nearly throwing the Segmentasapien off of the roof in Thumbskull's mad attempt to shake the cops off of them. The Segmentasapien continued to fire off more explosive pieces of himself, occasionally missing but forcing the cop cars to swerve and turn at a breakneck pace, sometimes getting the speeding vehicles to crash into each other.

"Keep driving!" Bloxx yelled over his shoulder.

"What are you doing, kid!?" Frightwig screamed.

"Giving you a chance to escape!" Bloxx shouted as he reconfigured his makeshift weapons back into arms. Before any of them could protest, the Segmentasapien had launched himself from the roof of the fleeing clown car and down to the road; he quickly shifted and stretched his arms across the width of the road, thrusting his hands securely into the walls of the buildings on either side before he began to morph and reconfigure his body, turning himself into a high, thick wall. "Sorry ta _block_ you off!" Bloxx quipped before the first couple of squad cars slammed into him, the hoods of the cars crunching and shrieking loudly as smoke drifted up from the engines; the rest of the cars were fast enough to come to a screeching halt behind the damaged vehicles.

"And now I bid you ado!" Bloxx cried as he relaxed all the tension in his body and fell to the ground into a pile of brick-like pieces; the pile of bricks suddenly shifted and clattered loudly as they morphed back together into Bloxx before the stunned police officer's eyes. "See ya!" the Segmentasapien waved good-bye before he stretched his flexible arms up and bounded away, using them like legs of sorts to launch himself up to the rooftops and make his escape from there.

* * *

Gooliope waited patiently in the wings, counting down how many seconds it would be before it was her turn to be in the spotlight and then horrible mistreated afterwards if she messed a single thing up; George was currently out in the main ring, doing a comedy ring with the circus's two clowns, Chuckles and Bob, where he would play nasty tricks on both clowns and make it seem as if the other had committed the crime. The act would continue on for several minutes, with each clown lashing out at each other with gag items that led to hilarious results on the audience's part before the two clowns finally wised up and got revenge on the monkey boy, much to the audience's delight; George however, did not enjoy it as much as he seemed, spending hours on end getting the banana cream filling out of his fur from the pies the two clowns would throw at him.

"He's killing it out there!" Zombozo chuckled darkly. "Of course, so have I." he added.

"Your humor never ceases to be funny, boss." Gooliope rolled her eyes, rest her chin in her giant hands.

"Was that a shot, jelly stain? I can have you _easily_ replaced!" the zombie clown snapped. "With my latest attraction, that freak could easily replace you _and_ your pathetic friends with all those freaks of nature in that watch of his!"

"Yes, boss." Gooliope sighed. The sudden squeal of tires caught both of their attentions as the circus's clown car came hurtling in through the back of the tent and came to an abrupt halt before the Circus Freak Trio emerged from the inside with cunning grins on their faces.

"What's the haul, my dear friends?" Zombozo grinned deviously, rubbing his hands together in a crafty manner.

"Not much, I'm afraid." Acid Breath hissed. "The kid alerted the fuzz before we could get a decent haul."

"We won't be able to steal anything else now that the cops are on high alert." Frightwig added with disdain.

Zombozo growled and grounded his teeth together with annoyance; while the stolen loot was an added bonus, the crimes he had his freaks pull were mostly just distractions so he could 'borrow' some of his audience members to feed off, draining them of every last drop of happiness they could have ever made or feeding off every last scrap of fear as he terrorized them into a nearly dead state. Now with the police wising up to how things were working, it meant he was going to go hungry tonight.

"The kid did a real neat job of shakin' the cops, though." Thumbskull added brightly as he unloaded the clown car's truck of the stolen goods.

"Where is the runt anyway?" Acid Breath growled; a sudden clattering noise caught their attention as Bloxx came jogging in through the back of the tent, breathing heavily as he rested his large knuckles on the ground just as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world.

"There he is!" Thumbskull pointed at the tired boy.

Gooliope watched with pity as Zombozo pulled out a small, metal tube from his pocket and pressed a hidden button the underside, a long, glowing, purple tendril of energy snaking out from the tube and into the air before it dropped down to the ground and pooled on the earth; the Circus Freaks winced slightly at seeing the energy whip in their boss' hands.

"Jello ass, help them stash the loot." Zombozo growled, pointing a finger at Acid Breath, Frightwig, and Thumbskull. "I've got some . . . disciplining to do." he said in a sinister tone; Gooliope said nothing as she hauled herself to her feet and lumbered over to the small pile of four heavy bags in a hunched position, effortlessly picking up the stolen loot before two fingers and following the Circus Freaks towards the elephant trailer, where the loot would be hidden and stashed under a false flooring until later use.

"Never cross me again, boy." Zombozo snarled once he and Ben were alone. The zombie clown drew back his instrument of torture and cracked it hard across Ben's back, grinning wickedly when the boy cried out in pain on the floor; he didn't make a move for the Omnitrix on his wrist however, remaining perfectly still and only flinching when beaten as Zombozo whipped him three four times and then swiftly kicked him in the ribs before the abuse finally stopped.

"Get up, kid. You're on in ten." Zombozo growled as he put the energy whip away. "And I _better_ be surprised." he added, walking away to attend to other matters.

Ben lay there on the ground for several minutes, feeling nothing but excruciating pain for what felt like hours on end before something finally touched him; it was cool to the touch as it brushed against his skin and carefully wrapped around his burning body, easily lifting him off of the ground without any struggle or pause of any kind as Ben was held up to Gooliope's large face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"It hurts . . ." Ben groaned.

Gooliope sighed. "That's to be expected. The first couple times are unpleasant and take some getting use to, but before long you just become . . . numb." she said before she pulled Ben to her and cradled him against her chest like a baby as she reached for him with a finger. "Now hold still. This may hurt at first, but it'll make the wounds better."

"What . . . what are you doing?" Ben moaned as the tip of Gooliope's finger brushed his collarbone and neck; a sort of wet, sticky substance was secreted from the goo monster's skin, rubbing against the stinging marks on Ben's skin and briefly increasing the pain before they cooled down and actually began to feel _much_ better.

"I can make this special slime," Gooliope explained. "It really helps heal left over traces of Zombozo's temper." she said, wincing as she carefully tugged down his uniform to get at the hidden scars across his body; as she worked, she took a mild note at how peaceful Ben seemed to be in her hand, despite being many times his size. It took a while for monsters to get use to her size, often scaring them witless before they eventually realized she wasn't going to eat them or some other manner of the sort.

"Thanks." Ben sighed happily as his wounds began to heal.

"No problem." Gooliope allowed a small smile as she gently set him back down on the ground. "Let me know if you need another treatment." she added. "Now come on. We've got the big finale to pull off."

Ben gulped upon hearing this; he hadn't been told that there would be a grand finale to perform in. He just thought he had to perform a quick act for the night and be done with it, but apparently this was not the case. The Omnitrix wearer really hoped Gooliope was ready to make more of that healing slime; he suspected he was going to need it. With a sigh, he waited patiently next to the goo monster as George and the two clowns finished their act and retreated back stage to prepare for the grand finale, the clowns each gathering up a trio of bowling pins as George went off to collect the elephants.

"Are you ready?" Gooliope whispered.

"What do I do?" Ben wondered.

"Just turn into something and make a grand entrance." Gooliope whispered back. "You can work out the details on your act and the finale later."

"If Zombozo doesn't get first that is." Ben grumbled under his breath; Zombozo pushed out past him, a friendly smile on his face as he addressed the crowd while the performers quickly readied themselves, Gooliope at the head and lead.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! You've a lovely audience, drive home safely!" the undead clown cackled. "but before you go, I give you our grand finale! It's a killer!" he laughed madly at his own joke as the preppy, circus music started up and filled the tent with bright and cheerful noises; the performers quickly stormed out into the main ring in a flurry of motion. The acrobats twirled and flipped across the ground before launching themselves into Gooliope's waiting hands where she then tossed all four of them high into the air and watched with slightly amusement as they expertly grabbed onto the trapeze bars overhead and began a wild and intricate routine. The goo giantess herself then reached down and scooped up the circus's two elephants and lifted them over her head and high into the air as each pachyderm balanced on a large ball in her palms with their trunks intertwined together; the two clowns were tossed high into the air by George before he himself jumped off a strategically placed trampoline and somersaulted through the air to land on Gooliope's head as the clowns landed on the back of the elephants and juggled pins between themselves.

The strong man of the circus bounced onto Gooliope's foot and held on tight as she kicked him up high into the air to land on George's waiting hands, holding a three won weight over his head that served as a balance beam of sorts of Twyla and Howleen as they flashed out of the shadows on either end of the weight much to the amazement and delight of the audience.

Ben watched nervously, wondering he should fit in as Andy rushed out into the arena and underneath of Gooliope; the purple monster closed his eyes and focused on Zombozo's cruel laughter, remembering all the times he had been beaten and whipped for getting one tiny detail of the act wrong, focusing his mind on all the rage and anger he had felt during those times. His body began to change drastically as his bones thcikened and grew, his entire body swelling in size and strength as his hands trembled into gigantic fingers tipped with sharp claws while his legs became as thick around as half a dozen telephone poles, his shirt and sandles tearing apart as he grew bigger and bigger directly underneath Gooliope. He remained hunched over as the goo monster carefully set her feet into his waiting hands while his shoulders broadened and muscle and tissue piled themselves on his entire body as his horns cracked and snapped loudly, exploding into gigantic antlers as a thick, shaggy beard appeared on his chin, completing the transformation. With a loud roar, Andy lifted Gooliope and everyone else above his head and into the air.

Ben saw this as his chance to jump in on the act and quickly turned on the Omnitrix before cycling through the roster and selecting a suitable transformation before slamming down on the activation button and swallowing himself in a burst of green light. His skin hardened into a thick exoskeleton, becoming jointed and plated as it turned a dull green in color. His bones vanished as his skull became pointed and even thicker than before as his eyebrows took on a physical form and formed into two, horn-like growths; his teeth cracked and sharpened into needle-like fangs that neatly fit together when Ben closed his mouth. His legs ground and fractured as his knees bent backwards into a completely different limb, a sort of thin webbing forming between the joints as his toes ripped out of his shoes into two, large claws as a third was thrust out from his heel bone. His two middle fingers snapped and groaned as they were sucked back into his hand, the remaining digits twisting into sharp claws as his body pinched in two sections; his rear end swelled into a slim abdomen as sharp spines popped out of his arms and ankles and a pair of green overalls and with black stripes all over materialized on his new body just as the Omnitrix appeared on his stomach, completing the transformation.

"Time to _spring_ into action!" Crashhopper quipped. The alien insect took a running start before firmly planting his feet into the ground, bunching up his legs, and launching himself high into the air; a spotlight clicked on at the most opportunistic time and showered Crashhopper in light, following him as he flew through the air and landed on the elephant trunks, wobbling slightly before he regain his balance and struck a pose. The audience went absolutely nuts, cheering and clapping loudly as the tower of circus performers stiffened to hold their wobbling creation together, lest they fall and accidentally injure or kill someone.

"Can we hurry this up?" Gooliope grunted quietly. "This . . . kinda hurts!"

"Shut it, jelly stain. You're in my limelight." Zombozo hissed before turning back to the audience with a broad and kind smile as he fed off of their happiness; it would keep him from feeling the hunger pains at night and keep him going until the next day, but what he really needed was a captive audience to drain of every single, delicious emotion they possessed. Gooliope rolled her eyes, but held her position firmly, not wanting to upset her boss anymore than he was. If she was to get fired, she had to play her cards right, and making the undead clown utterly furious right in the middle of a performance was not the best idea.

It was at that moment that Gooliope had to sneeze.

"Gooliope! Hold it in!" Twyla rasped, not daring to move a muscle.

"I . . . can't . . ." Gooliope struggled to contain the itching sensation in her nose.

"Whatever you do, don't sneeze!" George growled through gritted teeth.

"You're only making it worse, monkey boy!" Howleen hissed.

"Ah . . . ah . . . _AH . . ._ " Gooliope inhaled; with every breath, everyone standing on and underneath her flinched and tensed up, hoping to whatever deity was watching would not allow them to remain standing. Zombozo seemed blissfully unaware of the impeding doom as he appeased to his audience members and completely ignored the quivering tower of circus performers behind him.

"I think I'm good." Gooliope whispered a few harrowing seconds; the entire tower breathed a sigh of relief.

But of course, some bratty kid right in the middle of audience decided now was a good time to chuck popcorn at the funny, pink girl in the middle of the tower; the popcorn kernel hit her on the nose, nothing more than a slight tickle to someone of her size. But unfortunately, it was just enough to finish the job Gooliope's nose had started.

" _ACH-OOO!_ " Gooliope sneezed, her entire jerking with such force. The tower wobbled and shook, already starting to fall apart as audience began to take notice and point and scream the ringmaster; Zombozo stole a look behind him and paled underneath of his ghostly makeup as Andy stumbled around his massive feet to try and hold the stack of circus performers up, but it was fruitless. With a tremendous crash, they all came crashing down all over the big tent, sending panicked members of the crowd screaming for their lives at the threat of being crushed by such monstrous giants. It all happened so fast, Crashhopper wasn't aware of where he was until the dust had settled and a nearly total silence followed, saved for the distant cry of the fleeing audience.

"Everyone okay?" Crashhopper groaned as he sat up and rubbed his aching skull while the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben back to the world.

"That depends on you definition of okay." Twyla moaned as she staggered to her feet, wincing when she saw that one of the major support beams for the tent had been broken in two as if it were nothing more than a toothpick; Andy whimpered as he held his throbbing hand, hundreds of sharp splinters dug deep into his flesh as Twyla shadow traveled over to him and began to gently pick out the splinters from the giant's hand.

"George? Howleen?" Ben called out.

"We're fine!" Howleen called from above; Ben looked up to see George hanging by his tail from one of the trapeze bars high in the air above Ben with Howleen clutched tightly in his white knuckle grip. With a grunt, the monkey boy heaved let the werewolf drop down to the barely visible safety net below them before following after her, the two of them bouncing up and down for a few seocnds before crawling towards the ladders that led down to the ground. The clowns had been lucky enough to be caught by the strongman, the fall not seeming to affect the abnormally strong human; one of the elephants suffered from a broken leg and other from some bruised ribs, but thankfully no other injuries could be seen on the pachyderms as they tried to help each other to their feet.

While the majority of the circus performers had been lucky enough to fall in the main ring and not into the stands, Gooliope was not one of them, her gigantic body lying face down in the seats and limp. Ben bit his lip nervously and rushed over to her, hopping over the barrier that separated the audience form the main ring, and scrambling up the steps to Gooliope's head; he put his head to her cheek and sighed with relief when he found she was still breathing.

"Gooliope? Gooliope!" Ben called, trying to wake her up.

" . . . Ben?" Gooliope groaned, her voice slightly muffled in her current position. With a deep breath, the goo monster slowly moved her arms to grab two parts of the stands in her massive hands and carefully haul herself up onto her knees where she touched her throbbing head with her fingers to try and ease the pain. Once she was sure she wasn't going to fall over again, she slowly began to climb to her feet, using one of the main support beams as something to help her up; all the while, Ben couldn't take his eyes off of her. Or more specifically, her chest.

"Uh, Gooliope? Do you by chance fall _on_ someone?" Ben asked.

"I don't know." the goo monster rubbed her aching temples. "Why do you-" she started before she felt a slight sensation between her large breasts. Looking down at her cleavage, a bright red blush arched her face as she saw the squirming legs of a boy stuck fast between her two breasts; Gooliope carefully the boy by his legs with two of her fingers and slowly pulled him out, trying to hold back the moans in the back of her throat all the way before the boy was finally pulled lose with a wet _pop!_

"Sorry." Gooliope apologized to the boy as she held him upside covered in pink slime. She was about to the scrawny boy down on the ground when she suddenly recognized as the one that had made them all fall in the first place; a deep frown crossed her face narrowed her eyes at the boy while he smiled sheepishly.

"You, kid," Gooliope growled. "Are in some _deep_ trouble."

"Is it too late for sorry?" the boy whimpered.

"Beyond that, I'm afraid." Gooliope frowned, bringing him up to her face. "You're lucky to be alive right now; if you had been just a foot out place, you could very well be just a red stain on my pink skin."

"What are you going to do to him?" Ben wondered.

Gooliope pondered on the matter for a few minutes, glancing back and forth between the helpless boy in her grasp and the injured performers in the main ring; Zombozo was nowhere to be seen for the moment, but the goo monster had no doubt he would show up somewhere. He was a one-clown cockroach infestation, always there and impossible to get rid of. Eventually, she stopped thinking about what to do with the scrawny boy in her grip. "I think I'll-"

"Put him down, you beast!"

Ben and Gooliope turned their gazes away form the scrawny boy in Gooliope's fingers to see a woman with long, brown locks and a pair of glasses sitting on her nose while she tapped her foot impatiently on the ground.

"Pardon me, ma'am, but it would seem that your son is-" Ben started.

"In danger of being eaten by you freaks! Now put him down before I call the cops!" the woman yelled.

"Ma'am, please, we aren't going to eat your son. He's just in a whole lot of-" Gooliope tried to say.

"Help me, mommy! They're got hurt me! Help!" the boy interrupted, wailing and flailing his arms widely as he thrashed around in Gooliope's grip.

"I said let go of him!" the mother yelled as she stormed up to Ben and slugged across the face, sending him stumbling aside before she marched up to Gooliope and swiftly kicked her in the chin; it was little more than a pinprick of pain to the giantess, but with the way the woman was glaring at her, she had little other choice than to bend down and let the boy drop safely to the ground where he scrambled to the safety of his mother's arms.

"An explosion of purple smoke and colorful confetti exploded next to the small group, startling Ben and the concerned mother and clearly lying boy as a symphony of noise markers and funny sounding horns echoed through the big tent before Zombozo reappeared, looking as rotting and as creepy as ever. "Pardon me, but is something the matter?" he asked in a false voice of concern.

"Your . . . _freaks_ tried to kill my son!" the woman screeched.

"Did they now?" Zombozo tapped his chin, narrowing his single, visible eye at Ben and Gooliope.

"Boss, the kid-" Ben tried to say before he silenced with a touch on his shoulder from Gooliope; a quick shake of her head told her it wouldn't matter if they were right. Zombozo either wouldn't care or wouldn't believe them with the angry mother's word against theirs.

"My apologies, ma'am. I can assure you that these two will be getting a stern talking to," Zombozo promised as he pulled out a balloon and quickly blew it up before pulling out a pin. "You'll receive a full refund in the mail. Drive home safely now!" he cackled as he popped the balloon and disappeared in another explosion of purple smoke, confetti, and party noises.

"This isn't over, you _monsters!_ " the woman hissed; Gooliope gritted her teeth and raised up a foot before heavily stomping it down onto the stands. A massive tremor suddenly shook and rattled the big top as Gooliope glared at the mother and her bratty son, the two of them stumbling and trying to stay on their feet as Ben held onto the stands for support.

"I-If I-I w-w-were y-you, I-I w-w-would ge-e-et go-o-oin-ng!" Ben suggested.

* * *

Ben leaned against the bars of his cage, nursing the wound given to his jaw by the rude and very temperamental wound, the pain almost gone; Gooliope had slathered more of her healing gel all over the bruise before Zombozo had summoned her, unlocking the door to her cage and taking her elsewhere among the circus grounds. The expression on the clown's face had been unreadable, but the shape-shifter guessed that he wasn't happy about the night's events.

"Do you think she's alright?" he asked after a while.

"Goo's a tough ghoul." George reassured him, hanging on the bars of his cage. "Anything he can throw at her, she can handle."

"But will she want to handle it?" Ben wondered. "You said heard her. She's trying to kill herself."

"He . . . has a point." Andy spoke up; it was the first time Ben had heard him speak and his voice sounded hoarse and raspy, as if it hurt his throat to speak. "What if she's just going to give up?"

"I wouldn't pass her." Howleen sighed her own cage.

"That's it." Ben growled as he climbed to his feet. With a furious expression on his face, he turned on the Omnitrix and cycled through his roster before selecting a suitable transformation and slamming a hand down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a flash of green light. The first noticeable change was his size; he quickly shrank down from his good, six-foot frame to somewhere just a little under five inches. His skin darkened and turned a gray color as it became smooth and slimy to the touch while his bones ground and crunched, becoming more flexible and soft. He felt his feet each lose toes and become webbed as his hands each lost a single fingers. His eyes grew wide and light green in color as they bulged out from his skull. The most dramatic change that Ben felt was he felt his brain split into two, right down the middle as one of the halves shrank and became slightly smaller than the other; he suddenly understood the world around and its inner workings, complex equations and hundreds of plans formulating in his head as a black and green jumpsuit appeared on him with the Omnitrix fastened to his back.

"Grey Matter? Seriously?" the Galvan sighed. "I was going for Goop; this thing still doesn't work right."

"What are you doing?" Twyla hissed.

"Going to check Gooliope." Grey Matter replied smugly as he slipped out between the bars of his cage and jogged towards the entrance of the tent; by the time he got there he was well winded, as the relatively short distance between his cage and the outside world had suddenly got much longer and more distant to the Galvan.

"Ya might want to change into something bigger." Howleen suggested. "I'm just saying." she shrugged.

"Brilliant idea, Ms. Wolf." Grey Matter rolled his buggy eyes as he reached over his shoulder and slammed the Omnitrix disk on his back, swallowing himself in a second burst of green light. Hben flet himself become heavier and much fatter than before as his gut bulged outwards and his legs became short and weak; his arms only grew a few more muscles on them before fell to his sides, still swelling with fat and useless tissue as the transformation continued. His fingers grew into stubby claws as his toes became short and drab while his skin flashed a sickly, yellow shade in color; a pair of black briefs with a thick chain belt appeared on his plump figure as a heavy, cage-like helmet grew out of nothingness, held down by a large amount of chains, hoses, and locks. The most noticeable change however was his face. No one could see it, but Ben could feel it as it began to grow and shrink and swell and deflate in random spits, bony horns and knobs growing out at random intervals as sharp teeth lined his oddly. The final piece of the transformation was the appearance of the Omnitrix on the neck piece of the helmet.

"Toepick? Meh, could be worse." the ogre-like alien sighed with a low, raspy voice. With little choice and the clock ticking, Toepick lumbered out of the Side Show tent in search of Zombozo and Gooliope; he had never been anywhere else on the circus grounds but the tent and the now demolished big top, having spent much of his time in his cage locked up with the other freaks. The sweet smell of popcorn and cotton candy beckoned his senses, but he ignored them as he wandered around through the maze of trailers, tents, stands, and wagons. He could hear the circus' lions and tigers pacing back and forth in their cages and the two elephants snore softly on the ground of their enclosure, nursing their wounds from the recent accident. One tent was filled with light and the sound of cheers and laughter as the other circus performers played cards and drank the leftover soda the crowds hadn't taken. Toepick ignored all these as he continued to lumber around, searching for any sign of either Zombozo or Gooliope.

It was then that he a slight squeak.

Intrigued by the noise, Toepick followed it, carefully shuffling through the labyrinth of tents and booths until he came to a large, black train car decorated with white skulls with glowing orange and purple sockets; the container reeked of Zombozo. A loud whipping noise caught his attention and he slowly lumbered around the side of the train car, peeking around the edge. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Leaning heavily against the train car was Gooliope, her entire pink body covered in raw whip marks that seemed to glow with intensity in the cool night air; her breathing was slow and shallow and her left hand was twisted at an unnatural angle, signifying it had been broken (if she had any bones that is). Her head was lolled onto one of her bruised shoulders, a dark, pink slime slowly dripping from her lips while she fought to keep her eyes open.

"You . . ." Zombozo snarled as he cracked his energy whip and lashed Gooliope across the neck and breasts in anger. "You've jeopardized my entire operation!"

"So . . . what if I . . . did?" Gooliope coughed, her voice weak and tired yet still full of defiance.

Zombozo gritted his teeth as he whipped Gooliope across the legs several times before grabbing a barrel a good dozen feet away with his stretchable arms and chucking it at Gooliope's head, grinning maliciously when her head snapped back from the blow and banged loudly against the side of the train car; a dark pink slime began to ooze from her scalp, staining her pink and gold locks a deep purple in color as Zombozo carelessly stomped one of his feet down on Gooliope's other hand, breaking it with a loud squelching noise.

"You've ruined me for the last time, jelly stain!" Zombozo snarled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun; Toepick's eyes widened in horror as the zombie clown pulled the trigger with the weapon aimed directly at Gooliope's heart. The goo monster didn't even attempt to move and didn't flinch when the weapon was revealed to be nothing more than a gag, a small flag unfurling from the gun's barrel with the word ' _BANG!'_ written in loud, colorful letters. The ogre-like alien narrowed his eyes however, when he noticed the clown's grin broadening further as he pulled the trigger a second time; the flag was fired out of the gun right at Gooliope's left breast, the tip sharpened like a spike and tipped with a venomous green.

" _Nooooo-ooooo!_ " Toepick yelled, running as fast as he could to jump in front of Gooliope and block the shot with his metal helmet; Gooliope didn't react in anyway, the only movement she made being her shallow breathing while Zombozo fumed.

"Sorry, kid, but you'll have to wait yer turn!" he snarled, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a large mallet that shouldn't have been able to fit inside a coat so small.

"Leave her alone!" Toepick wheezed. "Don't make me hurt you!"

"Kid, I don't buy tricks. I _steal_ them." Zombozo growled with an ever present cruel grin on his face. "That, and the occasion murder to get at them, too."

Toepick didn't say anything as he drew himself up to his full height and squared his shoulders; Zombozo took this as a sign of surrender and rushed at the ogre-like alien with his mallet raised high above his head and ready to smash the metal helmet in with a single blow. The undead clown however, came to a screeching halt when the pistons around Toepick's neck suddenly popped out with a loud hiss and expulsion of gas. The cage-like doors on the helmet creaked and groaned as they shifted downwards with a loud _clang!_ and slowly rolled open; Zombozo watched with curiosity until he caught sight of what resided inside the cold helmet. He suddenly screamed with fright and fell onto his back in terror as unearthly growls, horrific screeches, and demonic laughter echoed out from the depths of the helmet, filling the air with horror while slimy and hooked appendages reached for Zombozo.

"No . . . no! Get away! Get away!" he screamed, his entire body flashing a pale white with fur.

" _Noooo . . ._ " Toepick rasped threateningly, taking a few deliberate and slow steps forward; Zombozo scooted back with every step the ogre-like alien took, begging and screaming for him to go away, but Toepick didn't even pay him any mind. He reached down and grabbed Zombozo by the front of his shirt, hauling him off of the ground and closer to his face; the undead clown couldn't take it anymore and suddenly began to blow up and expand like a balloon, his entire body and face swelling horribly until he suddenly exploded into a cloud of smoke and confetti. All that was left of the cruel ringmaster, was his tattered hat.

"Now _that's_ what I call a showstopper." Toepick chuckled darkly as the Omnitrix timed out in a flash of green light and returned Ben to the world. Without another word, Ben rushed right up to Gooliope, carefully scrambling over her bruised stomach and arms to reach her face. He placed his hands on her face, noting how cool it was to the touch as he smacked it slightly; Gooliope stirred with a low moan and blearily blinked open her eyes.

"Ben?" she croaked. "Where . . . where's Zombozo?"

"Gone for good." Ben smirked. "Apparently he can dish out fear, but he can't take it."

Gooliope gave a small laugh that sounded more like wheezing before it slipped into a feverish coughing until Ben slowly rubbed the back of her neck. "C'mon, lets go." Ben whispered.

"No . . . leave me . . ." Gooliope begged hoarsely.

Ben shook his head. "I can't do that, Gooliope. I care too much for you to leave you right here to suffer." he said firmly. "We're getting you help."

"How . . ." Gooliope moaned. "I'm . . . I'm too big to carry . . ."

"Got you covered." Ben smiled slightly as he turned to the Omnitrix on his wrist again and cycled through his available aliens before selecting the one he needed and pressing down on the activation button, engulfing himself in a flash of green light. The first change was the most palpable as everything about Ben became utterly massive, his arms and legs swelling to a thousand times their original size as his hands trembled and twitched before ballooning to a gargantuan size to match his new limbs. His feet exploded outwards and slammed hard against the ground, causing a large tremor as he grew taller and taller every passing nanosecond until he was as tall as a mountain. His skin bleached to a chrome white before red patches and black stripes arched their way across his body; a loud cracking noise filled the air as two, gigantic blades ripped out of his wrists and arms and fins sprouted from his hips and shoulders as a massive crest sprouted from Ben's skull. Two, metallic knobs popped out of his cheeks as black, finger-less gloves materialized on his hands as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, ending the transformation.\\\

Gooliope smiled weakly as Way Big bent over and carefully scooped her up in his massive hands, lifting her off of the ground and hold her close to his chest like she had done with him earlier that night; she snuggled in close to him, her exhausted muscles finally getting a rest as the To'kustar smiled lovingly and took one big step, clearing several dozen tents in the process; it took two more for him to reach the Side Show tent, bend over and effortlessly pluck it out of the ground before tossing it carelessly over his shoulder.

"Come on." he rumbled to the stunned freaks inside their cages. "We're leaving. And never coming back." he boomed as he bent over and easily tore the cages apart with a single movement of his hand and the shrieking of metal; the freaks cowered slightly at the sight of the colossus, but quickly clamed down as he laid a hand down on the ground and waited patiently for them to climb on before turning around and making his way through the circus grounds, 'accidentally' crushing Zombozo's trailer underfoot as they left.

"Where are we going?" Twyla asked as the wind rushed through her hair from her vantage point in Way Big's palm.

"No idea." the To'kustar. "But anywhere is better than back there."

"Agreed." George nodded. The group was silent for the longest time as the To'kustar walked across the landscape, clearing hundreds of feet in single, wide strides as he stuck to the wildernesses and back roads of the state, deciding that a hundred-foot tall alien that could easily wipe out an entire city as big as Boo York would not be welcome in any town or city, no matter how big. Way big felt a sudden movement from his chest and he looked down to see Gooliope trying to move, as if to stand up and reach his head to speak to him; the To'kustar saved her the effort and lifted her up to his head to speak.

"Thank . . . you . . ." she whispered.

"No problem. No one hurts my friends and gets away with it." Way Big grumbled. Gooliope smiled and hauled herself up into a sitting position for a brief amount of time, long enough for her to reach up and gently kiss the To'kustar on the cheek before settling back down to rest, the constant rocking motion Way Big made whenever he moved lulling her to sleep. The goo monster nor the other escapees could see it from where they were lying or standing, but the To'kustar was blushing a furious red in color.

 **And there we go!**

 **Apologies to viewers who were confused as to what happened to the poll; so many people voted, that I already had an idea for which ghoul to write about, so I picked one and shut it down to begin work. Sorry, again.**

 **Ugh, this took longer than I wanted it to. Guess that's what I get for trying to juggle three stories, school, and being sick at the same time.**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below! And don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	18. The Tennyson of Notre Dame

_**Sata srī akāla,**_ **everyone! I have returned after an eternity of waiting!**

 **Now, everytime I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And in the event of a tie, (like it was for the last poll) I flip a coin on which ghoul to write about. No biased decision or favoritism here, just honest to good, dumb luck.**

 **With that settled, the winner of this chapter is . . . Rochelle Goyle!**

 **Trust me when I say this was a hard choice to right, not because I have anything against everyone's favorite gargoyle, but because it dead even with none other than the goddess of love herself, Cupid. I'm sensing that a lot of you want a Cupid chapter soon, am I right?**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onward!**

" _Up there, high, high, high in the dark bell towers lives the mysterious bell ringer. Who is this creature? What is he? Who? What is he? What? How did he come to be there? Hush, and I, dear reader, shall you a tale. A tale . . . of a man . . . and a monster."_

Scaris.

A city of hustle and bustle, a city of hundreds maybe even thousands of people that vie and push their way to make a living in the grand city of France; the fisherman fish in the hopes of catching enough fish to feed and support his family, the bakers sell their bread to scrounge up a living, and they there are the gypsies. Hundreds of them littered the city of Scaris, lurking within the shadows and filthy alleyways in the hopes of avoiding the cold hand of justice they never deserved.

Like a gigantic god watching its creations from below, Notre Dame rose up and looked down on the city of Scaris, covering it in its shadow; the cathedral was an impressive feat of architecture with grand stone pillars like those of sturdy skeleton bones and large, stained glass panes that sent a rainbow of colors into the massive church. The monumental cathedral however, was terrifying as it was impressive, instilling fear in the gypsies and townsfolk of Scaris. It wasn't so much the church that terrified the populace, but who often visited the very church.

"Good morning." Bensimodo smiled cheerfully while he leaned on the stone balcony; next to him stood a large, stone gargoyle roughly sculpted into a bare-chested human figure, save for the large pair of horns that sprouted from his forehead and above his wide, open fanged maw. A pair of gigantic, bat-like wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and sheltered a long, spiked tail that curled around his feet. Shaggy hair sprouted from the figure's head and a pair of pointed ears, like that of a goat, resided on either side of his face. Resting peacefully in the gargoyle's open jaws was a bird's nest that sheltered a small, orphaned dove.

"Will today be the day? Are you ready to fly?" Ben, as he was more commonly called, asked the bird; the chicked cooed sadly, seeming to deflate.

"Are you sure? It's a good day to try." Ben smiled reassuringly as he gently closed his fingers varound the small chick and lifted it out of the nest. "Why, if I picked a day to fly . . . this would be it." he sighed happily, holding the small bird out towards the radiant dawn and cool breeze that wafted up and through the towers of Notre Dame, carrying the sweet scents of the village below up to the pair.

"The Festival of Fools." Ben grinned, looking down to see the courtyard below slowly transforming into that of a wild carnival; stages were being constructed, carts drawn by horses were pulled into place as dozens of shopkeepers set up their stalls and herded their livestock into pens to prepare for the upcoming festival.

The bird chirped nervously. "It'll fun! The jugglers, the music, and dancing!" Ben listed off, smiling more as the bird gave him a wary look. "Okay, fine. If you don't believe me, I'll give you a few pointers." he smiled warmly as he set the chick down on the balcony and turned to the strange charm that was firmly strapped to his wrist; he nor his master knew anything about where it came from or what it was, only that it remained firmly strapped to his wrist without any sign of it coming off. What Bensimodo did know, as he pressed a finger to the charm's face and watched as glowing, green images of strange symbols appeared before his very eyes, was that it was something magical. Upon his first few uses of it, his master had forbade him from ever using it, believing it to be a tool of the devil; after some convincing and reasoning, Bensimodo had managed to sway his master into believing it was a tool of God. After all, if it was permanently attached to his wrist, it must have been there for a reason.

He found the image of the transformation he wanted to use and pressed down on the charm's face, engulfing him in green fire as his features and body began to change and distort. His bones became lighter, hollow actually, as his arms stretched out to twice their length; he spine snapped and erected itself dramatically compared to his usual, hunched posture while his skin darkened to a blood red in color as six, gaping slits opened up between his ribs. His thick fingers fused together into a pair of sharp claws while his toes morphed into a pair of talons, a third toe sprouting out from his heel. His mouth widened, connecting up to his eyebrows as they shifted into a forked crest along the front side of his face, giving him an appearance like that of a devil. A tail sprouted from the base of his spine as a thin, yellow membrane formed from his wrists to his waist. A pair of black briefs and a green strap vest materialized on his body with the strange device appearing on the vest hooker.

The bird was slightly startled by the Aerophibian perched on the balcony next it and gulped nervously as he flapped his broad wings and took to the air, flying in a small, loose circle before alighting back down on the railing next to the baby dove and picking it up carefully in his claws. "Come on," Red Devil urged the chick; the bird gave him a nervous look before taking an experimental flap of his wings and lifting up and out of the Aerophibian's claws, not even noticing when he moved them out of the way. By the time the bird did notice, it was flying all by itself before landed happily back into the Aerophibian's hands and cuddling up to one of his thumbs; a flock of adult doves quickly interrupted them in a flurry of feathers as Red Devil was engulfed in a flash of green fire and return to his original, deformed figure.

"Go on," Ben urged the little bird. "Nobody wants to be cooped up here forever." he chided the bird; with a small toss, he sent the little chick flying high into the air, watching with a quickly saddening expression as it flapped its wings urgently to keep up with its already fleeing flock.

The moment was promptly interrupted when the stone gargoyle next to Bensimodo promptly coughed loudly and spat out the now abandoned nest from his teeth. "Man! I thought he'd never leave!" the gargoyle hacked, spitting out a mouthful of fluffy down. "I'll be spitting feathers for a week!"

 _"_ That is what happens you sleep with you mouth open, Kevin." a second gargoyle smirked at his friend's misfortune; unlike Kevin, the gargoyle was a male, slightly more muscle than Kevin. Unlike Kevin, he had a pair of grand, eagle wings sprouting from his shoulder blades, forming a protective shield from the elements as his clawed hands held onto the stone threshold. A reptilian tail curled out from the base of his spine as pointed ears resided on either side of his cat-like eyes, framed in place by carved stripes that the artist had taken the time to sculpt; he walked like a monkey over to Bensimodo and Kevin as the later continued to try and get invisible feathers out from his teeth.

"Go scare a nun." Kevin spat before turning to Bensimodo. "Hey, Tennyson, what's goin' on? A fight? A flock?"

"A festival." Rook noted with a happy expression.

"Ya mean the Festival of Fools?" Kevin wondered with excitement.

"Uh, huh." Ben nodded sadly, turning to walk away from the railing and its wonderful view of Scaris; Kevin however, did not seem to notice.

"Ah, right! Pour the wine and cut the cheese!" he grinned toothily.

"It is a treat to watch the colorful pageantry of the simple folk." Rook remarked with a relax and dignified tone; this unfortunately did nothing to make Ben feel any better, nor did Kevin's excited behavior.

"Boy, nothing like balcony seats for watchin' the old FOF, am I right, Tennyson?" Kevin grinned, playfully elbowing him in the ribs.

"Yeah. _Watching._ " Ben sighed miserably before retreating from the railing to slowly walk back inside of the space among the giant, ringing bells that he called home; Kevin didn't seem to take notice of Bensimodo's demeanor, preferring to focus upon that of a mime far down below that was just asking to get a loogie spat at him. Before the gargoyle could launch his ammunition, Rook clapped a hand over his mouth and forced him to swallow, gesturing with his head towards Ben.

"Hey, hey, what gives, Tennyson?" Kevin wondered.

"Are you not going to watch the festival with us?" Rook asked, concerned.

"I don't get it." Kevin frowned, stumped.

"Perhaps he is sick?" Rook suggested.

" _Non._ Impossible." a feminine voice caught their attention and caused them to crane their necks to look at an approaching gargoyle; unlike Rook and Kevin, the gargoyle was distinctly female in gender, with a slender figure and sizable, stone breasts that lacked any distinct features. Like Kevin however, she too had a pair of bat-like wings sprouting from her shoulder blades and a pair of webbed ears poking out from her soft, pink locks that draped like a cape over her back and around her slim, stone shoulders. Claws tipped her delicate hands and small fangs curved past her plump lips as she walked like a monkey over to Kevin and Rook. "If _dix-huit_ years of listening to you two has not made him sick, nothing will." Rochelle smirked.

"But watching the Festival of Fools has been the highlight of the year for Bensimodo." Rook protested.

" _Pitié._ What good is watching a party if you never get to go?" Rochelle wondered before turning to the small flock of birds that had taken to perching on her shoulders and head. "Would you please leave me alone, you _buses!_ He's not made of stone like us." she added more quietly as she climbed up onto her legs and walked into the inner sanctuary of Notre Dame where the bells all hung with great care and Bensimodo made his home; Rook copied her and climbed to his feet while Kevin opted to walk on all fours next to his friends and fellow gargoyles.

The trio of gargoyles soon found themselves in a small, abandoned room that Bensimodo had set up a large, wooden table in. On the table was a small, replica of the surrounding city, with Notre Dame at one end where the river protected it from intruders and the following town out in front of the massive cathedral; with eighteen years spent trapped up in the heavens of Notre Dame and only having to ring the bells at certain times of day or year, Ben had more than enough time on his hands that he used to carve and fashion old pieces of kindling that were meant to be used as firewood into small structures, people, and animals. In short, Ben had constructed his very own Festival of Fools for himself in the sanctuary of Notre Dame.

But it wasn't the same.

" _Ce qui est faux?_ What is wrong, Ben?" Rochelle wondered, laying a comforting hand on Bensimodo's large hump; his master often called him a deformed monster, a being that had to be sheltered away from the world for his own safety. And with his large hunch, odd eyes, squashed nose that looked like he had taken a brick to the face, burly arms, buck-toothed smile, and the strange talisman permanently attached to his wrist, he had no choice to agree. "Do you wish to tell me what is wrong?"

"It's just . . ." Ben sighed as he played with a wooden figure of a horse, wondering to put his thoughts into words. "I don't feel like watching the festival."

"Do you not ever dream of going there instead?" Rochelle asked.

"Sure." Ben nodded. "But . . . I'd never fit in out there. I mean, look at me! I'm a monster!"

"So are we, Ben. There are other monsters out there, too." Rochelle replied; despite having multiple differences between one another, the human and monster sides of Scaris got a long quite well, with the occasional skirmish here and there erupting and disturbing the peace.

"Hey, quit beatin' around the bell tower, Tennyson," Kevin grinned as he climbed up onto the table and picked up a figure of Ben himself that was position with above the village in the safety of Notre Dame to then place it down below among a crowd of partying people. "What do we gotta do, paint you a fresco?" he joked.

"As your friends and guardians, we insist that you attend the festival." Rook urged, spreading his wings slightly; sitting on a stone threshold in the pouring rain and blazing sun for hours on end gave one a stiff body if they were not accustomed to the job and stretching their limbs whenever the chance arose.

"Me?"

"No, the Pope," Kevin rolled his eyes sarcastically, picking up and playing with a small statue of the man before tossing it over his shoulder carelessly. "Of course you!"

"It would be a very educational experience." Rook offered.

"Jugglers, woman . . ." Kevin interrupted, elbowing Ben in the ribs once more; Rochelle narrowed her eyes at him, feeling her face heat up like the times she helped Ben cast a new bell over the boiling pots of molten copper.

"You can learn to identify various, regional cheeses . . ." Rook continued.

"Bobbin' for snails . . ." Kevin smirked, taking a bucket of old rainwater and tossing it casually around in his claws.

"Listening to the indigenous folk music . . ."

"Play 'Dunk the Monk'!" Kevin smirked as he took his bucket and slammed it over Rook's head, sticking it firm and fast.

"Ben, listen to a _cent quinze_ spectator. Life is not a spectating sport," Rochelle shook her head as she took Ben's strong hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "If watching is all you will do, then you will watch your life go right on by without you."

"Yeah, you're human, what with the flesh, the hair, and nose," Kevin listed it off casually. "We're just part of the architecture. Right, Rook?"

"Yet, if you chip us, will we not flake? If you moisten us, do we not grow moss?" Rook replied as he finally managed to pry the pail off of his head and promptly dunk it back over Kevin's own face.

"Ben, just grab a fresh tunic and-" Rochelle started to say.

"Thanks for the encouragement," Ben sighed. "But you're all forgetting one thing."

"What?"

"My master, Hellscream." Ben said, taking a small figurine of the very man he was speaking of his his hands; the three gargoyles deflated considerably upon realizing that their friend was right.

"When he says you are forbidden from ever leaving the bell tower, does he mean ever-ever, as I am told is called or-" Rook started.

" _Never ever-ever._ " Ben interrupted. "And he _hates_ the Festival of Fools. He'd kill me if I asked to go." he gulped nervously.

"Who says ya gotta ask?" Kevin perked an eyebrow up in a playful and mischievous manner, rubbing his claws together craftily. "Ya sneak out-"

"It . . . _would_ be for _un_ afternoon . . ." Rochelle admitted warily; while all three of them were protective of Bensimodo and loved him like one of their own, she was perhaps the one that was concerned about him the most, spending the most time with him whenever she could. Rochelle did not think it was possible, when she first saw the tiny, deformed baby being cared for and taught in the heavens of Notre Dame, but she had developed feelings for her friend over the long years she had spent with him; her position on the thresholds of Notre Dame did not allow her to keep an eye on Bensimodo during the times she could not be seen moving, and thus she had carefully sketched and carved an image of him in the stone between her claws and feet for her to gaze at lovingly when she could not see him.

"And ya sneak back in." Kevin finished deviously. "He'll never know you were gone."

"And if I caught . . ."

"Better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission." Rook shook his head sadly.

"But he might see me!" Ben protested.

"You could wear a disguise!" Kevin said, pulling an old rag over his head like a cloak as an example. "With that fancy charm of yours, you'd be able to hide yourself amongst the monsters of the crowd no problem! What Hellscream doesn't know, can't hurt ya."

"Ignorance _is_ bliss." Rook nodded in agreement.

"Nobody wants to stay cooped up here forever, _non?_ " Rochelle whispered, quoting the last words Ben had said to one of his few non-stone friends before sending them out and off into the wide world that he would never be allowed to see. Ben felt a small, confident smile cross his face; if he was careful and quick, he could pull this off! Hellscream would never know and if it worked the first time, he could go next year! And the year after that, too! Why, if he could swing amongst the rafters and rooftops and archways of Notre Dame with ease, then why couldn't he sneak into the festival?

"I'll do it!" he announced happily, jumping to his feet. "I'll get cleaned up, run down those stairs, run out through the doors and-"

"Good morning, Bensimodo." a deep, cold, emotionless voice growled.

Ben gulped and shied away from the voice of his master, none other than Judge Van Hellscream himself; the man was a tall, slender figure, about twice as tall as Ben's hunched figure and dressed in dark, black robes and a tri-horned hat with black and purple stripes that made the fluid, red ribbon that hung out the back all the more noticeable. The man himself had a tight, angular face and cold, blue eyes like that of the ice that often clogged and choked the waterways of Scaris during its harsh, cold winters; a dirty blond beard sprouted from his chin, framing the deep frown that could often be seen on his face, an expression that was all but unamused at everything the world had to offer. Especially the Festival of Fools.

"G-Good morning . . . master." Ben trembled, taking several steps away from the door that Hellscream stood in, allowing the judge to seemingly float across the ancient wood floor and over to a small table with a basket in hand, his expression never wavering.

"Dear, boy, whoever are you talking to?" Hellscream asked.

"My . . . my friends." Bensimodo replied, looking at the three, stone gargoyles that now stood frozen in place near him, their expressions and movements frozen and unmoving as if they were still sitting out on thresholds of Notre Dame, gazing down on its bustling city below.

"I see." Hellscream huffed, rapping a knuckle on Rochelle's head; Bensimodo just barely caught the slightest movement of the gargoyle flinching as she was struck, resisting the urge to ask his master to stop hitting one of his friends. "And what are your friends made of, Bensimodo?"

"Stone."

"Can stone talk?" Hellscream grinned cruelly.

"No . . . no it can't." Ben sighed unhappily.

"Close," Hellscream smirked, flicking Ben upside the head as he moved past him to sit at the small table tucked away in one of the corners of the belfry. "Depending on where it is located, most stone can not talk. But if is a gargoyle . . . then, it may talk. But there are none of those retched creatures here in God's holy house, now are there? Out there, in the sin filled city of Scaris, maybe, but not here."

Ben relaxed slightly, glad that his master still believed his friend's movements to be nothing more than the lonely hunchback moving the lifeless statues around and giving them voices and personalities and lives of their own in the hopes of alleviating himself of his eternal loneliness. "Now, lunch." the judge commanded.

"Yes, sir." Ben said quickly, rushing off to gather a set of dishes; one set was composed of a wooden plate and small, cup while the other plate was larger and made of fine metal with a fine wine cup to accompany it. He quickly ran back over to the table and placed the metal set in front of his master, taking the wooden set for himself and seating himself down on a barrel while Hellscream sat in a comfy, wooden chair with a dusty, plush cushion.

"Shall we review your alphabet today?" Hellscream drawled, pulling out a book and small bottle from the basket.

"Oh, yes, master. I . . . I would like that very much." Ben said, submitting; Rochelle felt herself get hot with anger, moving her eyes to either side of her to see a similar expression forming in Kevin and Rook's eyes, resisting the urge to push her stone eyebrows down.

"Very well," Van Hellscream sighed. "'A'?"

"Abomination." Ben replied.

"'B'?" the judge asked, pouring himself a large amount of fine wine into his cup and giving Bensidmodo but a few drops.

"Blasphemy."

"'C'?"

"C-Contrition?"

"'D'?"

"Damnation."

"'E'?"

"Eternal damnation."

"Very good." Hellscream nodded. "'F'?"

"Festival . . ." Ben said quietly before he was suddenly showered with a spit take of wine from Hellscream.

"Excuse me?" he glowered, wiping his stained mouth with a napkin.

"I-I meant F-Forgiveness!" Ben said quickly.

"You said 'Festival'," Hellscream frowned, placing his hands on the table and standing up, watching with a harsh glare as Ben put his face into his hands out of guilt. "You were thinking of going to the festival!"

"I-it's just that . . . you go every year, and-"

" _I_ am a public official! I _must_ go!" Judge Hellscream cut him off, his voice echoing as he walked down the winding steps that led through the few stories of Notre Dame that Bensimodo called home, the hunchback following after him. "But I don't enjoy a _moment_ of it! Thieves, cutthroats, the dregs of human kind all mixed together in a shallow, drunken stupor." he growled with disdain as he walked out onto the stone walkway that connected Notre Dame's two, ancient towers.

"I'm . . . sorry I upset you, master." Ben sighed.

"Bensimodo, can't you understand?" Hellscream sighed with mock disappointment. "When your heartless mother abandoned you as a child with that horrific talisman on your wrist, anyone else would have tried to drown you! And this is my thanks for taking you in and raising you as my own?" he frowned, narrowing his eyes at the quivering hunchback.

"I'm . . . sorry, master." Ben sighed, walking over to the balcony his master stood at to look out over the city of Scaris.

"Oh, Bensimodo. You don't know what it's like out there." Hellscream shook his head sadly, placing a comforting hand on the hunchback's hump; really the judge wanted nothing more than to finish what he started eighteen years ago, maybe even throw the deform boy off of the roof of Notre Dame herself. But then again, that would jeopardize his immortal soul, just as he done eighteen years ago when he had killed the boy's innocent mother, kicking her in the head and snapping her neck on the very steps of the cathedral the boy was forced to call home, unaware that his mother had killed but a hundred or so feet below the very stone he walked on. It would have been almost amusing, if the judge's own eternal life was not at stake; caring for the hideous creature he was forced to call a son was but the only way to save his soul from falling into the fiery pits of Hell.

"I do know, Bensimodo. I do." Judge Hellscream shook his head sadly. "The world is cruel and wicked, and it is I alone who you can trust in this whole city!" he exclaimed loudly, grabbing Bensimodo by his shoulders and bringing his attention to him. "I am your only friend." he hissed with a smile equivalent to that of a patient serpent or hungry wolf. "I who keep you, teach you, feed you, dress you . . . I who look upon you without fear. How can I protect you, boy, if you don't stay here where it is safe?"

Bensimodo sighed unhappily, following his master back inside the stone walls of Notre Dame. "Remember what I taught you, Bensimodo. You are deformed and you are ugly and these are crimes for which the world shows little pity. You do not comprehend how they will see as nothing more than a monster, a hideous creature that must be destroyed at all costs!"

"I am a monster . . ." Ben repeated.

"So for your sake, dear boy," Hellscream purred, running his fingers through the boy's brown locks to comfort. "Do as I say, obey, and stay in here."

"You are good to me, master." Ben nodded. "I'm sorry."

"You are forgiven." Van Hellscream said after a long, chilling moment as he folded his arms over his chest and straightened himself up to look more imposing while looking down upon the hideous, hunchbacked creature before him with the horrendous, damn charm on his wrist. "But know this, Bensimodo. This is place, and this place alone, is your sanctuary."

"Yes, master." Ben bowed; satisfied that he had gotten his message across and abused the deformed boy for long enough, Hellscream spun on his heel and left with a flurry of his robe, his shoes clapping loudly on the steps down through Notre Dame.

"So, you still goin'?" Kevin grinned toothily, moving once Hellscream was out of sight.

"I don't know . . ." Ben gulped warily.

"Come on, Tennyson! It's only one afternoon!" Kevin elbowed him lightly, though his stone elbows made it rather painful for the poor, deformed hunchback.

"But _Van Hellscream_ will be there!" Rochelle hissed. "If he were to go out-"

"He could wear a disguise!" Kevin protested. "Or use that fancy charm of his!"

"Perhaps, but there is a great chance that Hellscream will recognize him, even in form." Rook reminded his stone companions. "As much as I would like to see Ben outside of the cathedral for once, the risk of him being seen and caught by Hellscream is too great."

"The guy's as dumb as a pigeon." Kevin scoffed. "He can't even tell that we're living' up here!"

"Well, when you put it like that . . ." Rook hummed.

" _Silencieux,_ both of you!" Rochelle barked loudly, silencing both of the arguing gargoyles. With a sigh, she rubbed her stone temples and flexed her wings to calm herself down before speaking once more. "It is not our decision to decide whether or not Ben should or should not leave Notre Dame for the Festival of Fools. It is his choice and his choice alone."

"Rochelle, as usual, is right." Rook lamented with a sigh.

"I like my idea better . . ." Kevin grumbled before he turned to Ben. "So what'll it be, Tennyson? Stay up here for a whole 'nother year, or join the festivities?" he asked, lounging on a stone railing and picking his teeth, believing there to be some leftover bird's nest amongst his teeth. When he didn't get an answer, he paused and turned his head to see Ben rummaging through one of the many trunks and chests that lay covered in dust in the heavens of Notre Dame, hiding relics and artifacts from when it was first resurrected; the hunchback then pulled out a ragged cloak that he quickly slipped over his bunched form, making sure the hood obscured his face.

"You . . . you are going?" Rochelle wondered.

"I am . . ." Ben nodded. "I won't get a better chance than this."

"Are you sure this is wise?" Rook asked with concern. "Van Hellscream may already be suspicious."

:That's a chance I'll have to take." Ben said grimly as he turned to the talisman fixed to his wrist and pushed a trigger of sorts to bring the familiar, soft green glow to his face and slam a hand down on the charm to swallow himself in a flash of green light. His body began to swell and balloon as millions of strong, firm muscles piled themselves onto every part of his body while his fingers and hands trembled and twitched before quickly growing in size to match his rapidly growing arms. Stitches arched across his body as his expeditiously expanding back and chest tore his shirt to shreds with a loud ripping noise while patchwork skin started to make up his surface; a pair of burdensome, green gauntlets formed around his thick wrists as metallic bolts burst and poked out from his body on his arms and back while a pair of gigantic conductors tore out of his broad shoulders with a blast of green light. Electricity danced violently between the two conductors as a pair of black pants and large, slitted boots materialized on Ben. His jaw pushed outwards with a loud crunching noise, a few teeth jutting out at odd positions as his hair turned a jet black and became long and shaggy. The talisman punched almost painfully out of his right pectoral, completing the transformation.

"This is a new one." the Transylian mumbled to himself, looking over his gigantic hands with interest; the cloak he had used to cover himself barely covered his head now and chest now, forcing him to find something bigger.

"What're you gonna call it?" Kevin asked.

"Cadavre Vivant." the Transylian replied, having found a cloak large enough to cover his identity and the charm that sat on his chest. "I'll be back before it's time to ring the noon bells."

"Take care, dude." Kevin waved.

"We shall watch you from Notre Dame." Rook reassured him before quickly scampering towards the balcony railing to get a head start on his job; Kevin soon followed afterwards, leaving Rochelle and Ben alone.

"So you are really going?" Rochelle asked.

"Yes. A quick look, nothing more." Cadavre Vivant comforted her, taking her petite hand in his thick fingers and giving them a soft squeeze relative to his strength.

" _Oui vous avez raison._ You are right." Rochelle sighed, taking his hand and pulling on it to bring the hulking Transylian down to her level. "Please . . . be careful." she pleaded before kissing him a soft, quick kiss on the cheek; before Cadavre Vivant could register what had happened, the gargoyle had given a flap of her wings and taken off into the shadows of Notre Dame.

"I . . . I will." Cadavre Vivant nodded, talking to no one in particular. With that being said, the Transylian charged towards the balcony railing, startling Kevin and Rook as he threw himself off the side of the cathedral; the wind rustled through his shaggy hair, threatening to tug his cloak off as he plummeted towards the ground far below him. With a grunt, her readied his leg muscles as he slammed into the roof of a building a good couple dozen yards or so away from where he had first jumped off of, the first place he had left the safety of Notre Dame.

 **And there we go!**

 **Now before I receive any complaints, I did base this off of the _Hunchback of Notre Dame_ which is a very long movie, too long for a one-shot. So, if you would like to see more of this, vote for Rochelle in the poll!**

 **But if you want to see a different ghoul with Ben, vote for someone else! So don't forget to vote!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	19. A Goddess' Love

_**Marhabaan,**_ **everyone! Welcome back to** ** _Cupid's Crystal Ball!_**

 **And so, under the request of Maddie (who I have managed to convince to stay out of this story for the moment, thankfully), I am going to begin to answer and respond to your reviews like I have been doing in _Once Upon a Tennyson._ I really wish I had done this sooner, but now seems to like a better time than never!**

 _ **Numbervania –**_ **No problem. I apologize for any issues the poll's might present, as they are not always accessible immediately after being set up. But I hear there are plans to do a live-action version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame in the works, so be on the look out! I'm personally looking forward to the Jungle Book movie that'll be coming out sometime soon.**

 _ **Karlos1234ify –**_ **Glad you enjoyed it. I was honestly trying to come up with something else, but this just seemed to fit the most simply because of the presence of gargoyles; there was actually a rough draft where Rochelle was a museum guard at the Louvre and Ben was an art thief, but as you can see that project never came to light.**

 _ **Menatron the Angel of Ideas –**_ **Good thing I have the Hunchback on DVD!**

 _ **Guest –**_ **I checked out the songs you suggested and, to be honest, they don't fit. I mean seriously, the last one is talking about** ** _cars,_ and last I checked, Cupid didn't have an engine and didn't race in the _Indie 500._ Your suggestion for the Amanita chapter however, is something I have been considering.**

 _ **masterart –**_ **Well, I think it's safe to say that that little idea came to light.**

 _ **Diablo Ex Machina –**_ **The only reason I don't eliminate ghouls from the poll is because there are other ideas with them that I'd like to write at future dates, things I can only write with Ben and said ghoul already being a couple; your idea to pair Ben with more than one ghoul a chapter (something I've already done with the Whisp and Werecat sisters) is something to consider, the main reason I only pair Ben with one ghoul is to give each ghoul a unique experience.**

 _ **maverickmoxey2000 –**_ **This is a question I've actually been getting a lot of: who plays Esmerelda? Well, the answer, my friend, you'll just have to wait and see. Our suggestions for the Amanita chapter are something that I really like, though I don't think I'd be able to do something like Beauty and the Beast if Amanita is going to 'play' Gaston (perhaps the biggest and most likable jackass Disney has ever created). Your idea for Ben 23 however, is something I will have to turn down since all these revolve around Ben Prime.**

 _ **Unknown –**_ **Admittedly, it is rather hard to picture Ben as Quasimodo and I will say that out of all my one-shots that this one is probably the worst; Rochelle was just so hard to come up with a descent concept for that didn't involve going back to school just yet.**

 **Now, every time I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them.**

 **And this weeks winner . . . C.A. Cupid!**

 **To be honest, I really can't say I'm surprised that this one came out, especially considering Cupid made into the top five of nearly every poll I put out there for y'all to vote on. I was hoping this would wait off until Valentines Day, when this would be deemed a little more appropriate or something, but as Cupid herself says, "Love is not bound by any rules. Nor would want to follow them if it had to." Okay, maybe I'm paraphrasing, but I'm making a point!**

 **With that being said, lets get onto this love fest!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 **Onward!**

Kitty Cheshire curiously looked at the crystal ball in her grip, admiring the smooth surface as she got herself cozy in a ray of warm sunlight on top of one of the Lifairy's towering bookshelves; she nonchalantly moved onto her back and balanced the ball on her hands and feet, absentmindedly bouncing and batting at it like a kitten would with a ball of string as she thought over what she had just spent the last couple of hours watching.

What was this strange world she had just seen, where towering goo giants performed circus tricks and talking stone statues watched over a sprawling city like vigilantes? Why did these bizarre and freaky creatures not have a destiny to follow like she and her friends did? What were these weird creatures? Just how did the odd, yet _charming,_ shape-shifting boy connect them all together? And just why was Cupid so attached to this silly, whimsical device?

"Just what are hiding?" Kitty murmured; the Evil Step-Librarians harshly shushed and Kitty subsequently stuck her tongue out at the old hags before curiously rubbing the sizable, crystal ball and watching as colorful shades and images wavered and warped across the smooth surface.

* * *

C.A. Cupid sighed, drumming her fingers with boredom on the desk in front of her. With her headphones wrapped securely around her head, her microphone and a bottle of water position in front of her just so, and all the equipment it took to produce and upkeep her talk show that she had stationed in one of the many highs towers that rose above Monster High. Calls had been slow and this was driving the young deity to boredom as she yawned and stretched her skeletal wings to keep them from falling asleep.

It wasn't that Cupid was dependent on getting such phone calls about monsters asking for dating advice; well, actually that was only half true. Being sent to attend Monster High had been her adoptive father's idea of helping her ease into the family business more as it seemed that she couldn't hint the side of a Kraken's heart if it was standing right in front of her (Cupid was aware of this ironic fact and drove her crazy to no end when someone brought it up). After spending a few weeks of getting to the school and creating a monumental mess between both Clawd Wolf and Cleo De Nile, she had ended up creating her own talk show and had hit off from there.

But the main reason why Cupid was so put off by the lack of calls was that it was merely a week away from Monster High's Valentines Day Dance, when boos asked their ghouls out to share a romantic night together. Valentines Day was by far Cupid's favorite holiday for multiple reasons; she loved love and helping other monsters find that special someone to share their days with. Not to mention, the dance often served delicious, pink frosted cupcakes that Cupid would often stuff herself silly with if she got her hands on them.

And truth be told . . . there was another reason why she liked Valentines Day. Or at the very least, why she was so anxiously awaiting for one of her many phones to just ring already. Cupid, the Daughter of Eros the God of Love, had a crush on someone. He had come just as she had, showing up out in the middle of the blue without word or warning; granted, his arrival had received a somewhat more negative outcome than hers did (To'kustars were not known for being considered friendly upon being first encountered and Way Big had been no exception). After that though, things smoothed out rather decently between him and the student body of Monster High.

Especially amongst the ghouls.

Cupid would be lying if she said that Ben wasn't attractive, especially since he could effortlessly change his form and shape to match the species of the many ghouls that sought after him, or at the very least, turn into an alien that closely matched them. But he was also kind and caring, if not a little bit egotistical every now and again when he had a right to be, and he easily made friends with almost everyone he met; Ghoulia Yelps had someone smart enough to talk to whenever Ben turned into Grey Matter or Brainstorm, Jane Boolittle had been coaxed out of the vents on far more numerous occasions than thought possible, and Manny Taur finally had someone big and tough enough for him to quite literally butt heads with whenever Ben turned into Four Arms. And that didn't account for the every constantly changing crowd of ghouls that followed Ben around like pilot fish to a shark or sat with him during lunch.

Cupid however, had been forced to watch from a distance, mostly because there wasn't much hope of getting past the impenetrable wall of ghouls that surrounded Ben nearly every chance she tried to talk to him. That, and the crowd of every changing ghouls seemed to be able to silently mentally unanimously agree that Cupid would not get anywhere near him for fear of having Ben swept away from them in a matter of seconds; the young deity thought this was both a hurtful and stupid gesture as she had no intention of doing such things. That, and she was horrible with a bow.

With a sigh, Cupid slipped off her headphones to release the slight pressure on her ears and pulled out her iCoffin, typing in the short password it would take to gain access before delving into the small collection of photos she kept on the device. Despite being well known among the student body of Monster High, she didn't have many friends; Frankie was perhaps the one exception to that rule, as the bubbly, little cadaver could practically gain the friendship of just about anyone she came across, Cupid _and_ Ben included. Said cadaver, deity, and Abbey could be seen on one of the first pictures Cupid pulled up, posing with broad smiles on their faces around a small project they had been forced to do by Mr. Rotter about their favorite season (Cupid's was still spring, but she had to admit that there was something but the chilly, snow filled nights of winter that just had something romantic about them).

She scrolled past a picture of a selfie with Diamondhead in the background sword fighting with the school's Kraken; at first, the beast had been on a rampage and had caused extensive damage to the school before Ben had beaten the ever living tar out of it, and soon after that the massive, tentacled monster became something of a sparring partner with him during his spare time. It wasn't uncommon to find Diamondhead fencing against a ship mast wielding Kraken or arm wrestling with the tentacled beast as Humungousaur, and monsters frequently made bets on which party would win in whatever competition they were currently participating in.

Cupid smiled with amusement at the photo before scrolling to the next one, sighing lovingly when she found that it was a photo of the time she, Ghoulia, and Ben had been paired up to enter the Science Fair together; admittedly, both of the ghouls had been skeptical at letting Ben, who was known for not getting very decent grades in Clawculus and Dragonometry, help out with the project, but they had quickly been proven wrong when he suggested they try to make something that would allow the wearer to reach speeds access of 500 mph much like his Kineceleran form. After extensive research and a large amount of smoothies that Cupid had quickly come to love, the result had been a white and red colored suit that was able to manipulate static electricity until it built up a big of charge that it allowed Ghoulia to quite literally run circles around her friends and win the prize.

Cupid blushed slightly at the picture, remembering Ben had wrapped his arm around her to pose for the picture; she could still remember his soft, warm touch and how her delicate fingers were dwarfed by his own. And while it had only been a friendly gesture and not something more, Cupid couldn't but hope that it would somehow become something more than that. Oh, how she wished for it to be more than that.

Closing her eyes, Cupid leaned back in her chair to daydream, finding herself standing in the beautiful gardens that soften sprawled and wrapped around her home of Mt. Olympus; she could feel the cool, soft grass beneath her bare feet as the warm breeze rustled through the creeping willow tree overhead, gently caressing her cheek in warmth. The sweet smell of blooming roses and other flowers comforted her as a flock of birds sang overhead in the garden she resided in. The young deity shifted her wings slightly as she paused to take a sniff of the creeping willow's blooming flowers before a shadow passed over her head; this would normally mean either Pegasus was out for a flight, Uncle Apollo or Aunt Artemis were going out to perform their duties of directing the sun or moon across the sky, or that her lover was coming in for a landing.

She looked up to see a humanoid figure descend from the sky with great pumps of his large, feathery wings to slow his fall that sprouted out from his back; he wore a full body black and green jumpsuit that covered his entire frame with a pair of arm length, black gloves. His face was vaguely human with a spiky, yellow Mohawk peeking out from the green and black face mask that obscured his features, save for his pure green eyes and a small opening for his mouth that exposed pale blue, almost gray skin. Cupid was well aware of the sharp, cookie-cutter teeth that hid behind his pale lips, gigantic claws that would almost instantaneously sprout from his fingers and tear his gloves to shreds, and the fact that he was able to melt a clay pot from nearly half a hundred feet away with his eyes, but she also knew something else about this being as he landed on the ground in front of her, towering a good two feet over her head. A sudden flash of green engulfed him as the wondrous device that had previously been fixed to his breastbone timed out and returned him to his human form; at least, that was what he looked like. Cupid also knew that behind his scruffy, brown hair, smiling eyes, cheeky smile, well developed arms and chest, and green and black toga that he was a god like herself, perhaps one of the most powerful. And yet, despite all his godly powers, he still chose to utilize the Omnitrix strapped to his wrist like he had been he had been transformed.

Ben smiled at her and gently took her hand in his, giving it a friendly squeeze as the two of them pulled the other towards them to embrace each other; the wielder of the Omnitrix and God of Extraterrestrials wrapped his arms securely around her, carefully fingering her snow white feathers and the soft down of her wings as she slipped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his partially exposed chest. Cupid feel her face turn red as she edged closer to Ben as he did the same and-

 _RRRIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIINNGGGGG!_

Cupid was abruptly torn away from her sweet daydream by one of the phones laid neatly across her desk ringing. With a slight shy of annoyance as she slipped her iCoffin back into her pocket and placed her headphones back on her head, she finally answered the ringing phone on the third ring.

"Hello? You're live on the air with Cupid," the young goddess recited her usually catch phrase she used whenever answering calls and giving advice on love.

"H-Hello? Cupid? Th-This is Jackson Jekyll," the half breed's voice came from the other end.

"Nice to have you, Jackson." Cupid said with a slight smile. "How can I be of service? Need advice?"

"Yes," Jackson gulped nervously; Cupid imagined that he was probably sweating up a storm on the other end. "I-I . . . I want to ask Frankie to the dance, but-"

"Afraid to ask her out?" the young deity guessed.

"Sorta." Jackson admitted. "I-It's . . . I'm more worried about Holt coming out and ruining everything."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem." Cupid shrugged. "Just don't listen to any music and ask Frankie out!"

"B-But . . . what if she says no?" Jackson worried. "We d-don't exactly have the best track record . . . and what if she says yes!? There'll be music at the dance! Holt's bound to come out and ruin everything!"

"Hmmm. That does bring up a problem." Cupid tapped her chin in thought; Jackson was something a unique case to her, as she not only had to pair two people together, but _three_ if she took into account his alternate, loud, music loving personality. And then of course there was Frankie Stein herself, perhaps the only ghoul in the entire school who had seen more heartbreaks and match ups than Cupid had in her training days as the Harbinger of Love. Putting the two of these together for even a night could be disastrous, considering their past attempt at a relationship; not only would make things significantly awkward, but it was bound to draw several uncomfortable stares in their direction that just might ruin the whole date. Then, of course, there was the slight issue of keeping Holt in check with so much music around.

"I think I might have a solution," Cupid said after a few minutes. "First off, wear some earplugs to the dance; those should muffle the music enough that Holt doesn't pop out at any unwanted periods of time."

"He's acting as the DJ," Jackson remembered. "We're getting paid twenty bucks every hour."

"Then simply wear the earplugs when you're not dancing with Frankie." Cupid rolled her eyes a little. "Anyway, just _ask_ Frankie out. Even if it is Valentines Day, don't try to be overly romantic. Just ask her out, no flowers, no nothing special or cheesy."

"That's a relief," Jackson sighed from the other end. "Heath was going on and on about how I should do this whole really big-"

"Don't take advice form your cousin, take advice from me." Cupid interrupted, making a mental note to have a little talk with Heath later on with Abbey there to slap some sense into him as well. With that being said, both sides were satisfied at the conversation between them and hung up. With that being said and done, Cupid sighed and sat back in her chair to wait for another call to come in and brighten her day. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long.

 _RRRIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIINNGGGGG!_

Cupid's hand was on the phone within a second. "Hello? Your live on the air with Cupid," she recited once more with a little less enthusiasm than she usually gave.

"Hello? Cupid, this is Ben."

That immediately got Cupid perked right up. Ben had called _her_? He had actually called her and acknowledged her existence outside of a class project? Then again, she was well known around the school, especially among the happy couples that stalked the halls together. It wasn't like she hid in the walls and out of sight like Jane Boolittle did or constantly disappeared from view out of sheer habit like InvisiBilly. "N-Nice to have you on the show, B-Ben." she stammered, her face turning a deep red in color.

"So . . . I . . . kinda have a problem." Ben admitted from the other end.

"What kind of problem?" Cupid wondered.

"Well, there's this . . . ghoul that I . . . want to ask out to the dance."

"What kind of ghoul? Who?" Cupid asked desperately, silently begging that this was a cheesy ploy of some kind that Ben was employing to ask her out.

"Well, that's just it," Ben sighed. "I'm not sure how to approach her. She's got years of experience on me and we all know I don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to girls of any species."

"I'm sure she won't be able to say no," Cupid responded with a slight giggle; she recalled on several occasions Ben sharing his many and multiple encounters of the female species, often spilling into another tale of his many adventures and how crazy his life had become. The young deity was often amused at how completely hopeless Ben was at times, not to mention the fact that, quite literally, everything bad back in universe happened to him, as if the universe just hated him for some reason. "I wouldn't."

"Wait, what?"

"N-Nothing!" Cupid covered her tracks and recomposing herself. "So . . . who is the lucky ghoul?"

"That's what I'm actually calling about," Ben said. "Chariclo Arganthone Cupid, will you got to the Valentines Day dance with me?"

Cupid nearly fell out of her chair as she squealed excited (unwittingly making all the werewolves in the school howl in pain and clap their hands over their ears to try and block out the horrendous noise), clapping her hands together happily; it would be several minutes before she realized she had probably just made Ben deaf and that she was now a good ten feet off of the ground with her skeletal wings.

"So, I take it that's a yes?" Ben asked with slight mirth from the other end.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes!" Cupid exclaimed happily.

"Anything else you'd like to say?" Ben seemed to smirk.

" _Bien sûr!_ "

"What the Sphinx does that mean?" Ben wondered.

Cupid giggled, her face a deep crimson in color. "French is the language of love, Ben. It still means 'Yes'."

"Alright, so, meet me at my place at seven? We can walk over together." Ben suggested.

"I'll see you at seven." Cupid agreed before saying good-bye and signing off to then promptly resume her joyous screaming and enter the school's werewolf population into a whole new world of pain as she hit a pitch of sound only they would be able to hear.

* * *

The wind was howling and screaming in her ears, whipping freezing flurries and biting snow into her face and across her already pale, snow white skin, but Cupid didn't care; the sudden warmth in her heart she had gained from that simple phone call from Ben earlier that week was more than enough to keep her warm in the cold temperatures that February brought to New Sallem. That, and the white and pink, fur-lined cloak with a hood that she wore over a magenta jacket and a furry, white muff kept her nice and toasty despite the chilling winds and the knee deep snow that lined the sidewalks and streets.

Upon entering the world of Monster High, Ben had spent several weeks living on top of roofs of the monster community (the Normie side of town not only considered him a traitor to his own species, something that mildly irked Cupid to no end, but also found his alien forms rather unsettling, even when Ben was doing some of his hero work) until Headless Headmistress Bloodgood herself had taken him in and given him room and board in her rather large house; Abbey had at first been rather uncomfortable with this idea, but quickly warmed up to it when she found that Ben's Polar Manzardill form was more than enough to keep her own quarters at a comfortable, sub-zero temperature without raising Bloodgood' air conditioning bill.

Thus, Cupid found herself walking up to the front door of her headmistress' Victorian era style house in the middle of the cold winter of February.

"Hey, Cupid!"

The young deity turned her head to see a bright light come tromping through the snow towards her, revealing itself to be none other than Heath Burns wrapped up in a black jacket, blue scarf, and gloves coming towards her, his hair aflame and keeping him warm in the blizzard around the two.

"Heath? What are you doing here?" Cupid wondered.

"Managed to talk my babe, Abbey, into going out with me to the Valentines Day dance." the fire elemental chuckled triumphantly. "Guess she couldn't resist the Heathmister any longer!"

"You keep telling yourself that," Cupid allowed a small smile as she rolled her eyes. "Just try not to call her any of your silly pet names and you should be able to get through the evening without getting flash frozen like last time."

"Can do!" Heath gave a goofy grin and snapped his fingers. "So what are _you_ doing here? Taking Headmistress Bloodgood to the dance?" he joked.

The young deity flushed a bright red in response, bending down to dip her fingers into the snow, pack it tightly into a snowball, and then chuck it at Heath's face as a response; admittedly, her fingers were now cold, but watching Heath stand there in the chilling wind with a now very annoyed look on his smoldering face was absolutely priceless. "For your information, _Ben_ asked me to the dance."

Heath whistled, impressed. "Ghoul, you got lucky! Every ghoul alive in the school has been trying to ask him out for the past week!"

"Bet you wish you had that attention, don't you?" Cupid smirked triumphantly.

"Maybe." Heath shrugged. "But, uh, quick question: are you sure you didn't . . . you know . . ."

"Shoot him with one of my arrows?" Cupid guessed, now slightly annoyed herself.

"Hey, I'm just askin'! I wanna have all my facts straight before monsters start spreading rumors!" Heath defended himself quickly.

Cupid sighed. "I suppose you're right." she admitted; that was the slight problem of being the Daughter of Eros and dating a boy of any species. There was bound to be some monsters out there that believed she was only attending Monster High for her own amusement, toying with couples like a cat would with a caught mouse while simultaneously sleeping with any boy she could get her vile clutches around. Those little rumors had bothered and hurt Cupid for a while, and every now and again she could here them slither their way into conversation in the halls of Monster High, but she had learned to mostly ignore them after a while. "And no, I didn't shoot Ben with an arrow. As if I could shoot a bow properly anyways."

"Still can't hit the side of a Kraken's heart?" Heath smirked.

"Still can't hit the side of a Kraken's heart." Cupid nodded before turning around to continue up the front walk to Headmistress Bloodgood's door and ring the doorbell with Heath right behind her and taking cover underneath of the house's front porch. The two of them waited there for a minute before the door was finally opened by Bloodgood with a warm smile on her face.

"Ah, Cupid! Heath!" she smiled brightly as she gestured for them to come inside and out of the cold. "Abbey and Ben are upstairs finishing up."

"What's taking so long?" Heath wondered as he sat himself down on one of the comfy, plush couches in Bloodgood's living room.

"'Want to make dress sparkle like new frost'," Bloodgood quoted the former of her two housemates as she brought out a tray with a pair of steaming hot cups of hot chocolate. "Ben's giving her a hand."

"That's nice of him." Cupid took a sip of her hot cocoa and savored the warm feeling the ebbed through her while Heath cast a suspicious eye up at the ceiling before taking a sip of his own hot chocolate. "Are you going to be at the dance, Headmistress?"

"Of course," Bloodgood nodded. "It is, after all, to at least chaperone my own school's dances. That, and I must confess I'm really hoping they're severing those _delicious_ pink frosted cupcakes."

"You, too?" Cupid smiled before a creak of the stairs caught their attentions and they all turned to see two figures descend down the staircase. The first was Abbey dressed in a long, flowing, strapless dress that reached just below her knees that seemed to sparkle and shimmer in the light like a thousand ice crystals against the coming dawn; a pair of shimmering, frost covered boots ringed with warm fur covered her feet, allowing Heath to see her bare feet through the glass-like ice that made up the boots. Furry braces covered her wrists and forearms as a glimmering tiara of ice crystals ringed her head. Standing next just about even with the tall yeti was a Necrofriggian with its four wings and antennae spread wide to add to his large size, his cold gaze regarding the three monsters sitting in the living room for a few seconds before the Omnitrix fixed to a belt around his waist timed out and swallowed him in a green light; Ben now stood before them all dressed in a black tuxedo trimmed in green with the Omnitrix firmly secured to his wrist and a warm grin on his face.

"Hope we didn't keep you waiting long," Ben smirked. "The lady here wanted to make sure she was all nice and pretty for her date."

"The shutting of up!" Abbey yelled, slugging Ben roughly in the shoulder and making him stumble slightly from the blow.

"And there goes all feeling in my arm." Ben joked, cringing slightly.

"Please to be apologizing." Abbey said with an justificative tone.

Heath whistled in admiration. "Dang, ghoul. You look hot!"

"But Abbey is cold?" the yeti sounded confused. "Or is this to be your 'flirting' with me?"

"The later option," Ben cut in before Heath could say anything. "We should probably get going if we don't want to be late."

"Ben's right. The dance will be beginning in only a few minutes." Bloodgood agreed as she slipped on a nice, warm coat and grabbed a set of car keys that she twirled around a finger. "Do you all need a lift?"

"Nah, I got us covered." Ben told her as he tapped the Omnitrix and slammed a hand down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a blast of green light that scrambled and warped his genetic code into something new. His hands bloated and swelled as extra muscle and tissue wrapped themselves around his bones and enhanced his strength significantly as his bones grew larger and stronger to support his growing weight; his fingers cracked and splintered loudly as they molded together into three, large claws that turned a frosty blue in color while his shoulders shifted back slightly. Ben's back cracked and crunched loudly as it hardened and solidified into a tough, black shell that forced him onto four legs as a white carapace encompassed his chest and stomach, now fully protecting him. His toes tore through his shoes, now a pair of large claws as four, blue dorsal fins sprouted from his back while his skull bulged outwards slightly into a rounded, bear trap-like shape that allowed several of his quickly sharpening teeth to curl over his bottom lip; several fleshy growths and barbels formed on his bottom jaw as black markings etched themselves across his icy blue face and the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, completing the transformation.

"Ever been snowboarding?" Arctiguana's grinned.

"Abbey is thinking that she is liking where this is going." Abbey smiled excitedly as she eagerly climbed onto the Polar Manzardill's back without hesitation; both Cupid and Heath were lightly put off by this, but quickly shrugged it off as Ben and Abbey forming something of a brother/sister relationship after spending so much time living together under the same room. With that being said, Cupid quickly climbed up onto Arctiguana's back and hugged the second fin behind Abbey leaving Heath to climb on last and cling tightly to the third as the Polar Manzardill lumbered towards the door.

"I'll meet with you all at the dance. I have to stop by the veterinarian's office and pick up some medication for Nightmare. She's not handling the cold too well." Bloodgood said as she opened the door and let the Polar Manzardill and three monsters walk out first before she followed and locked the house securely behind them. "Stay safe!"

"I can't guarantee that." Arctiguana grinned cheekily before he sucked in a deep breath and fired off a beam of heavily concentrated, frozen vapor that instantaneously frozen when it made contact with the surrounding air and formed into a thin, yet sturdy platform at the Polar Manzardill's feet while he moved his head and to the side to construct an icy ramp. He then took a pause in his work and took a running start before leaping onto the ramp and sliding up and then back down at a quickening pace, sucking in a deep breath and blasting it back out to continue his construction of a nearly endless snowboarding ramp.

"Are you sure this is safe!?" Heath yelped as Arctiguana bunched up his legs and launched himself and the three monsters into the air, doing a barrel roll before blasting out another icy vapor to secure their landing.

"Abbey assures you that is perfectly safe," Abbey promised. "Ben and I do this most often during winter weekends. How else does Hothead think Abbey get to school so fast?"

" _OH, YEAH! WOO!_ " Arctiguana whooped with joy as he shot off of another ramp and curled up into tight ball to spin through the air, much to Heath and Cupid's horror and Abbey's delight; the young deity was quite positive that her stomach was doing somersaults inside of her and that whatever contents it still held would soon come back out and make a positively revolting mess everywhere before Arctiguana finally landed right side up and continued to surf along the icy ramps of his creation.

"Again!" Abbey cheered.

"No, not again!" Heath screamed.

"Please!" Cupid pleaded.

"Hang . . . on!" Arctiguana warned as all four of them went flying off a freshly ramp and into the air.

"Do your flash-freeze-breath-thingy!" Heath shouted as they began to plummet towards the very cold ground.

"I . . . can't!" the Polar Manzardill panted. "I'm outta . . . breath!"

"Wonderful. Now I'm gonna be even colder!" Heath whined seconds they all landed in a large snow drift in a puff of snowflakes; the fire elemental emerged seconds later yelping madly and doing a rather peculiar dance as he jumped around wildly and tried to get a stubborn clump of snow out from underneath his jacket. Abbey and Arctiguana weren't affected by the cold in slightest, a fact made significant when they both popped out of the snow mound cheering loudly and proceeded to high-five each other out of excitement and the adrenaline rush they had both received. Cupid however, wasn't enjoying the sudden jump into the freezing snow in the slightest and emerged shivering and with her lips a pale shade of blue as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world.

"Uh, sorry about that." he apologized to Cupid as he helped her out of the snow. "Kinda got caught up in the moment."

"N-N-No p-problem, B-B-Ben." Cupid shivered, her cheeks a pale shade of red, though whether this was from the cold or out of embarrassment or a similar feeling was unknown. "C-Can w-we go inside n-n-now?"

"Last one in is a frozen yeti!" Heath yelped as he sped towards the doors of Monster High that they had conveniently landed in front of.

"I try not to take offense." Abbey smirked with amusement at the fire elemental's antics.

* * *

The Monster High gymnasium had been claimed for the wondrous event that was the Valentines Day dance; glittering cobwebs hung from the ceilings and corners amongst arrow pierced hearts with little bat wings that hung down from the ceiling. The walls were constantly awash in multiple shades of pink and purple while a booffet table sat off to the side with multiple food choices to accommodate the wide variety of guests that would be attending the dance and then there was of course the DJ stand that currently stood empty as Frankie and Jackson nervously eyed the already crowded dance floor, contemplating whether or not they should go through with this.

"Hey, Jackson! Frankie!" Ben shouted over the dull music that droned through the speakers, provided by some monster's iCoffin that wasn't plugged into the sound system too well. "How're things?" he asked as he, Cupid, Abbey, and Heath entered the gym.

"Great!" Frankie smiled brightly; she wore a frilly ballgown-like dress that only reached down to her thighs, showing off her legs and nearly vertical blue and black pumps that only added to her towering height next to Jackson, Ben, Heath, and Cupid with her black and white streaked hair pulled back into a lightning strike ponytail that reached down to the middle of her back. "Who're you going with, Ben?"

"You mean other than every other ghoul in the school?" Ben cracked; Cupid chuckled nervously at this and looked out into the sea of monsters, noticing several lone ghouls that lined the walls eyeing Ben hungrily like a pack of starving wolves would eye a fat elk. She felt Ben take her hand and felt herself blush once more as he gave her a comforting look and introduced her to Frankie as his date to the dance, a fact that made the young cadaver quite happy.

"Aw, you two are so cute together!" she beamed. "Assuming that Cupid didn't, you know, fire an arrow at you-"

"Why does _everyone_ think that's all I do?" Cupid pouted. "Do they really think I would sink that low?"

"No!" Frankie protested. "I think they're just . . ."

"Jealous." Jackson supplemented the word. "To them, you're like the Great Decider or something."

"Whether they have a love life or not is up to you, according to them. Heath added in.

"Love goddess be crafty." Abbey confirmed.

"Ignore them, Cupid." Ben told her when he caught sight of the hurt look on her face. "They're just be overly sensitive jerks."

" _Hi, Ben._ " a seductive voice purred.

"Speak of the devil," Ben grumbled under his breath as he drew himself up to his full height down upon the cunning face of none other than Toralei Stripe. The werecat was wearing a short, scarlet dress that just barely covered her thighs with a rhinestone studded belt around her waist and a dark, red choker around her neck as a spiderweb dress hung lose from the back of her outfit. Cupid noted that her nails were also perfectly manicured unlike her own and that she had spent extra time highlighting her features with what could be argued as an excessive amount of makeup as well.

"Hey, Toralei!" Ben greeted the werecat with a friendly tone despite the way his eyes shifted uncomfortably towards Cupid, as if begging for help; Frankie and Jackson shared a quick look before escaping to the dance floor before they could be dragged into the mess that would no doubt follow. "You look . . . _nice_." Ben seemed to struggle with the word.

If Toralei noticed his hesitance, she didn't show it. "Aw, thanks for noticing, you handsome stud, you." she purred, sidling up to him. "You ain't so bad looking either."

"Uh, thanks?" Ben quirked an eyebrow as the poor choice in music abruptly came to a stop before a swift, upbeat bass line began to pound its way through the speakers much to the audience's relief; a quick look up at the DJ stand revealed Holt scratching away at the record tables with a pair of headphones over his ears, ignoring Frankie for the moment as he pumped the tunes.

"Ooh! I love this song!" Toralei practically squealed before turning to Ben. "You just _have_ to dance with me!"

"Toralei, I have a date." Ben pointed out, gesturing with his eyes towards Cupid.

The werecat rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's right. Little Miss Goddess over there," she scoffed. "What's gonna happen if I borrow you for a dance? Is she gonna make me fall in love with a plate of Brussels sprouts?"

"N-No." Cupid frowned.

"If I were you, I'd be more worried about angering _me_." Ben threatened.

Toralei smirked deviously. "Oh, yeah, I wouldn't want to incur your _Rath_." she grinned, grabbing Ben's wrist and tapping the Omnitrix before slamming a hand down on the activation button faster than Ben could ever hope to react. Ben's arms swelled as his veins popped out, alien blood flowing through them as muscles piled themselves on top of each other; his legs became strong and lean as his frame stretched upwards, growing taller and taller until he was a good five feet taller than the werecat beside him currently was. Deep orange fur began to sprout all over his body as his fingers split and cracked before bloating in size and strength, a razor-sharp claws ripping out of each wrist. His shoulders broadened as patches of white fur smoothly appeared on his chest, gut, hands, and feet while black stripes etched themselves across his back and shoulders; a handful of whiskers sprouted from his face as his eyebrows grew longer and pointed. Ben's jaw thrust outwards with a sickening crunching noise as his teeth tore through his gums and curved into sharp fangs. The final transformation was the appearance of a green and black luchador outfit and large belt around his waist with the Omnitrix at its center.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Toralei Stripe! Rath isn't gonna- _WHOA!_ " the Appoplexian yelped as Toralei pulled him out onto the dance floor before either he or Cupid could stop her; the werecat gave a fierce, smug smile, as if she were silently daring the young deity to try and take her date back from her as she took Rath's massive hands in hers and kept a tight grip on him, rooting him firmly to the spot as she danced while the Appoplexian struggled to get Toralei to let go of him without throwing her. No matter how much he hated, he wanted to avoid breaking any rules, which unfortunately included slamming Toralei through a wall.

Sometimes, Cupid hated Mr. Rotter's keen eyesight and unnerving leer.

With a sigh, Cupid hugged the wall and made her way around the sea of shifting and rolling bodies towards the DJ stand, attempting to try and get Holt to at least dance with Frankie while he worked; as she moved, she took notice of several other happy couples dancing the night away with each other. Draculaura was all but dwarfed by Clawdeen's hulking figure as she jumped and bopped to the music on a chair near the booffet so she could at least stand even with her boyfriend while Deuce and Cleo moved in perfect sync and unison. A little ways off were Venus and Jane, a couple that Cupid was pleased to say she had a hand in bringing together, and Porter Geist and Spectra Vondergeist dancing above it all in the air; the goddess even managed to catch a glimpse of Abbey actually dancing with Heath, a small smile of amusement upon her lips whenever she wasn't keeping a close eye on Rath and Toralei, the later leading the former while the former resisted the urge to maim the later.

It was almost painfully ironic to the young deity how she could effortlessly rattle off hundreds of dating tips and love advice and single handedly brought together some of Monster High's most famous and adorable couples, and yet had such difficulty standing up for herself and protecting the one she loved from other suitors that wished to try and steal her from them. At times like this, she would often mentally curse her family heritage (while simultaneously praying that Aunt Hera wouldn't hear her), her godly relatives scaring other monsters away from her for fear of being the targets of revenge schemes; whether it be getting zapped by Uncle Zeus' lighting bolts, attacked by Aunt Demeter's flora and plants, or, her case, getting shot with a love arrow and falling in love with some of the most humiliating and ridiculous things that would no doubt shatter their social life. It was this sort of problem that led Cupid to watching her love from afar, for fear of him thinking like the others and believing her to be someone to avoid at all costs when it came to actual dating.

By the time she was shaken out of her thoughts, the song had ended and the Omnitrix had timed out, returning Ben to his human form as Toralei quite rudely shoved him off the dance floor to go get some punch for herself.

"Sorry about that." Ben apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Cupid blushed slightly, her pale face turning pink as she ruffled her skeletal wings slightly. "It's not your fault you're so handsome."

"And it's not your fault that drop dead gorgeous." Ben chuckled, making the young goddess blush even further. "Why the guys aren't banging on your door is a mystery to me."

Cupid sighed, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. "Being related to such . . . intimidating figures as the Olympians kinda has its . . . drawbacks."

"What, afraid they'll incur ol' Ares' wrath?" Ben snickered. "I could beat that guy with my Omnitrix tied behind my back."

"Famous last words." Cupid gulped nervously, glancing towards the ceiling and sending a mental pray to Aunt Hera to try and calm down her Uncle Ares before he did something drastic to defend his title and simultaneously turn Ben into a sticky, red stain on the floor; admittedly, Ben had his occasional faults and bouts of overconfidence, but with friends and beings just as freaky as he was, he usually get his competence sooner or later and usually return to his much more likable self within the hour.

"I think Holt's putting on another song. Slow dance." Ben grinned, holding out his hand for Cupid. "Care to dance?"

" _Oh, Ben! I'd love to!_ "

Ben yelped as Amanita Nightshade unexpectedly grabbed his hand in hers, giving off a surprisingly string grip that upon closer inspection revealed to be the work of several firm vines wrapped and curled around his wrist tightly; while he was distracted by the vines, Amanita silently activated the Omnitrix strapped firmly to his wrist and selected the alien she desired before pressing a button down on the activation button. Ben felt his flesh become slightly squishy and more stretchable, glancing at himself in surprise while he turned a dark green in color as parts of his hips, shoulders, wrists, and knees turned a deep black in color; a loud tearing noise filled the air as red and yellow thorns ripped out of his shoulders and arms as his frame increasing until he now dwarfed Amanita and Cupid by a good two feet. His hands cracked and crunched as they hardened into yellow covered by a dull, orange on his knuckles with small spikes while fleshy thorns popped out of his disappearing knee caps and melting toes. He could feel his circulatory system become softer and less ridged as hollow vines filled with sticky juices and sap slithered throughout his body as a woody structure took the place of his skeleton; his head was suddenly engulfed in a fleshy flap as his skull stretched back into a brightly colored point until the flap finally burst open and formed a collar of sorts as the Omnitrix appeared on his stomach, completing the transformation.

Cupid gagged and covered her mouth and nose as Swampfire glanced over himself to see what alien he had been turned into this time; Amanita however, seemed oblivious to the horrendous odor as she eagerly grabbed the Methanosian by both of his hands and dragged him towards the dance floor, the slipperly wooden floor of the gym not working in Swampfire's favor as he tried to struggle and get free. "You don't mind if I borrow your date, do you, Cupid? Thanks!" Amanita called over her shoulder.

"But . . ." Cupid trailed off with a dejected sigh before she headed towards the booffet table and snagged herself one of the pink frosted cupcakes she craved; taking a seat and bite by the wall of the gym and watching as happy couples danced by however, did nothing to help. Not even the sweet, sugary taste of pink frosted cupcake was enough to make her feel better.

"Why does winged love girl have the long face?" Abbey asked, startling Cupid out of her thoughts as the yeti sat down next to her.

"Oh. Hi, Abbey. Enjoying the dance?" Cupid asked without taking her eyes away from the cupcake sitting on a paper plate in her lap.

"Hothead not bad dancer." Abbey replied with a shrug. "But Abbey digress. What is bothering winged love goddess like bald, baby yak?"

Cupid sighed. "I know it's not Ben's fault, but . . . it's like everyone is out to spite me tonight. They're constantly stealing Ben away from me, and I haven't even gotten to dance with him!"

"Then why is winged love goddess not fight for man?" Abbey wondered. "If you love Ben very much, why does winged love girl not fight for him?"

"I . . . I don't know." Cupid admitted. "I guess, being the Daughter of Eros and all, I just . . . assumed love would find me someday. I never thought I'd have to fight for the one I love."

"World is harsh like frozen Himalayas in blizzard." Abbey nodded. "It is only for the stronger to take on, and the stronger to master."

"That's . . . oddly wise of you, Abbey." Cupid blinked, surprised.

"Finally, someone realize!" Abbey exclaimed with relief; Swampfire was cringing as Amanita spun him around and tried to snuggle up close to his chest, turning his head as far away from her as possible for fear of being 'rewarded' with a kiss that he did not want to receive. Thankfully for the Methanosian, both the time available for the transformation and the song ended, returning Ben to the world as he quickly pried himself out of Amanita's grasp and quickly made his way towards the booffet table. "Ben is free once more; go to him now before he is snapped up like tiny minnow by hungry piranha."

"Your similes are not exactly comforting." Cupid said as she sucked in a deep breath and stood up, tossing her half eaten cupcake in the trash as she cracked her neck and rolled her head around on her shoulders; this was her moment, the time when she would stop acting like some nervous wreck and starting behaving like a true love goddess on a mission to claim her own love. With this goal in mind, she marched over to the booffet table with determination, only to find that Ben had vanished somewhere; fearing the worst, she scanned the dance floor for any sign of an Omnitrix wearing alien and was relieved to just catch Ben slipping out of the gym doors and into the hall beyond. Cupid did not hesitate to follow.

"Ben?" she called out, her voice echoing in the hallway.

" . . . No, I'm telling you that she's stuck!" she heard Ben's voice come from a little ways down the hall.

"Ben, I-" Cupid started.

"No, her body sent me a text, duh! Her head's out cold!" Ben growled, his patience wearing thin.

Cupid frowned. "Ben, I need to tell you-"

"Somewhere between Ghostmeister and Iron Maiden Avenue." Ben sighed wearily.

Cupid snorted with annoyance and marched up to Ben with determination, slapping the iCoffin out of his hand and startling him. "Ben, I need to yell you something important!" she frowned.

Ben sighed and pinched his brow. "Look, Cupid, I'm sorry, but this will have to wait."

Cupid gritted her teeth and held her ground. "No, Ben, you need to listen and-"

"Cupid, this isn't the best time." Ben countered.

"No, it's the _right_ the time! I have-"

" _CUPID!_ " Ben roared loudly, his voice echoing off the empty walls as Cupid flinched slightly; it w as a well known fact not to get in Ben's path when he was mad or enraged, lest someone get pounded into the ground by Humungousaur, compacted into an area the size of a dictionary, or stomped into paste by Way Big.

"This isn't the best time," Ben sighed, his tone grim and weary. "It's Headmistress Bloodgood . . . she's been in a car accident."

Cupid felt her jaw drop with surprise. "Wh-What?"

"Her car. It hit a patch of black ice and the brakes failed. She crashed into a ditch and her head was bashed against the steering wheel, knocking her out." Ben explained. "Her body was able to send me a text for help, but its legs are jammed in the wreckage and she can't free herself."

Cupid suddenly felt _very_ guilty.

"I'm sorry, Cupid, but I've gotta cut this date short." Ben sighed with an apologetic tone. "Bloodgood's life might be on the line here, and I can't risk that. I'm sorry we didn't get to spend a lot of time together, but it's over." he said. "I'm going to go rescue Bloodgood. You should probably just go home." Ben suggested as he bent over to pick up his iCoffin and head towards the main doors of Monster High, his hand already on the Omnitrix and searching for the right transformation. It wasn't until he has nearly made it to the doors did he feel a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Cupid.

"I'm coming with you." the young deity said firmly.

"You sure?" Ben asked with a small smile; Cupid gave him a look that said there would be no arguing.

"Alright then." Ben shrugged as he selected Big Chill and slammed a hand down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a flash of green light that warped and changed his DNA into something the likes of the world had never seen before. He felt his skeleton crunch and crack loudly as his frame increased upwards by a few feet, his arms and legs lengthening only slightly as muscles wrapped and pakced themselves tightly around his limbs, making them strong and lean and well toned; his bones groaned for a second as they hollowed out inside, becoming light weight and sturdy as his skin toughened slightly and turned a light gray, almost blue in color. Ben felt his fingers twitch slightly as they grew longer and stronger as his teeth ground and cracked loudly in his mouth, sharpening into neat, little fangs that fit perfectly together. His scruffy, brown hair instantly stood on end and bleached into a golden blonde that sharpened into a curved Mohawk as a green and black bodysuit materialized on his person and a mask with the same color scheme obscured his face, save for an opening for his mouth. A wet, slapping down filled the air as flesh and tissue were pushed aside and a pair of limp, white wings forced their way out of Ben's back, hanging flaccid by his side until this muscles and bone structure stiffened and they snapped to attention, becoming rigid and firm as they folded against his back as the Omnitrix appeared on a belt around his waist, completing the transformation.

"Of all the times to get a new alien." the Gabrinosian grumbled as he looked over himself; Cupid however was transfixed by his appearance, taking note at how eerily similar this new transformation was to the one that had appeared in a day dream she had been having but a week before, the only difference being that the original placement of the Omnitrix had been on his breastbone and not his waist.

"Hey, Cupid?"

"Yeah?" the young goddess was shaken out of her thoughts.

"Before we go, you got any ideas on what I could name this guy?" the Gabrinosian asked.

Cupid tapped her chin in thought, trying to come up with a half decent name. "What about . . . Angelhands?" she suggested.

"Is that the best you can come up with?" the Gabrinosian asked with a slight sigh, raising his hands above his head in an exasperated manner and startling slightly when a set of large, black claws that seemed more suited to a gigantic predator tore out of his gloves almost instantaneously. "Never mind." Angelhands blinked with surprise, focusing for a minute and returning his claws to their original size without a single tear in his gloves.

"Lets fly." Angelhands said as he flung open the doors of Monster High and gave his wings an experimental flap, lifting himself a few feet off of the ground in response before he then pumped his wings furiously and shot off into the air; the wind whipped and battered at his face, the snow biting his skin and body and forcing Ben to slide a protective eyelid over his eyes that he didn't realize he had until now just to see properly. Stealing a glance behind him, the Gabrinosian saw that Cupid, while having more practice with her skeletal wings, was still flying just behind him, her focus entirely on his back side as she relied on him to safely take her to the sight of the crash.

He had to admire her resilience and almost unfathomable trust in him; he could have easily outmaneuvered and lose her in the howling winds and relentless snow or have led her on some wild goose chase that would have gotten her horribly lost, and yet she had an undying faith in him and his abilities. Not that he would deliberately lead her into danger, not if he could help it. It was perhaps one of many reasons why he had asked her out to the dance over every other single ghoul in the whole school, even over sweet Frankie, gorgeous Clawdeen, and even Amanita Nightshade herself, though perhaps the main reason was that she was by far the only ghoul that didn't relentlessly pursue and try to seduce him on a weekly basis, unlike a certain werecat.

Before long they came upon the wreckage site and descended downwards through the freezing winds to the snow down below; Cupid gasped with shock, bringing her hands to her mouth when she saw the remains of Headless Headmistress Bloodgood's car turned on its side in a snow filled ditch, the engine smoking as frost covered the broken windows. Without saying a word, Angelhand shuffled through the knee deep snow and whipped out his large claws to trace one of them in a clear square on one of the car's windows with a loud shrieking noise that made Cupid's hair stand on end; the piece of glass he had traced out fell out of place and allowed the Gabrinosian to reach inside and pat around for a few seconds before he reemerged with an object that he cradled close to his chest like a newborn baby.

"She's most likely got a concussion." he said as he passed Bloodgood's head to Cupid; the young deity took her Headmistress' head without hesitation and wrapped it up in her fur lined coat she had managed to grab before leaving to keep her warm, biting her lip when she noticed the nasty, half healed bruise on her Headmistress' forehead.

Cupid then turned at the smell of fresh smoke and blinked with surprise when she saw Angelhands firing off twin, concentrated beams of hot energy from his eyes at the car, cutting out a large section of the vehicle and door before he buried his claws into the tough metal and easily tore it off with a short grunt. Peering into the car, Cupid could see Bloodgood's body huddled up in the driver's seat with the airbag pinning it tightly to the seat and car's ruined engine trapping her legs underneath it all; a quick slice of the Gabrinosian's claws and the airbag deflated with a loud whining noise that would have been comical had the situation not been so dire.

"I'm not gonna be able to bend that." Angelhands grimaced at the damage to the engine and front of the car that had Bloodgood's body trapped. "But I think I know who can." he said to himself as he slapped the Omnitrix on his belt and encompassed himself in a blast of green light that warped and changed his genetic code into something new. The first and most noticeable part of the transformation began when the skin suddenly melted off of Ben's skull, the bare muscle and tissue solidifying and turning into a hard, metallic sheen as his head suddenly separated from his body while a forked, eyebrow-like crest formed above his green eyes. His shoulder pinched upwards, forming large points and then an arch as his head floated between them, held in place by some sort of magnetic field. His skin turned a durable, metallic black with yellow lines and spots as his fingers fused together into large pincers while his frame shot upwards until it was about ten feet tall. His feet morphed together into two, large claws, a tingling sensation at the end of his pincers suddenly becoming aware to him as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, completing the transformation.

"This may hurt." Lodestar warned Bloodgood's body; the body gave a thumbs up and seemed to brace itself and tensed its body up as Lodestar clicked his pincers and focused on the metallic make up of the heavy vehicle. The loud shriek and sickening crunch of twisted metal filled the air as the sharp, serrated edges of the ruined remains of the car slowly lifted up out of Bloodgood's legs, pushing and compressing in on itself until it allowed Bloodgood's body to squirm out of the driver's seat a little bit beofre seeming to 'scream' in pain and hold its bleeding legs in agony. Without hesitation, the Biosovortian reached inside the car and pulled the body out bridal style, turning around and shuffling back towards the road to wait for the ambulance.

"Is she going to be alright?" Cupid asked, absentmindedly stroking Bloodgood's frazzled hair in an attempt to make her somewhat descent.

"I can not safely say." Lodestar shook his head just the faint sound of a siren cut through the night and a pair of beeping, red lights appeared in the distance. "But I bet they can."

* * *

The slow, steadying beeping of the heart monitor was driving Cupid crazy, but she kept this little fact to herself as she sat in a chair in Headmistress Bloodgood's hospital room, twiddling her thumbs and biting her lip nervously; Ben sat on the edge of the bed Bloodgood had been placed, never taking his worried eyes off of her still figure as her chest steadily rose and fell in time to the heart monitor that created the only sound in the room. The headless horsewoman's head wound was bandaged securely and both of her legs were elevated off of the bed to keep any amount of pressure off of the broken bones while the outfit she had been stripped of lay neatly folded on the table beside her bed, her figure now covered by a hospital gown.

Cupid sucked in a deep breath, mentally debating whether or not she should say anything while Ben was in such a state; she knew full well of his situation, how he had been pitched here in this strange, new world without warning or a way home. She was aware of the relationship he had with Bloodgood, almost acting like a second mother of sorts in the absent presence of his own, knowing how much her Headmistress meant to Ben.

Abbey's words however, came haunting back to her, mentally coaxing (more like demanding) that she take this very moment to tell him how she felt. If she didn't say anything now, would she ever have the courage to tell him again at another time? Would she be able to forget all the harsh glares from the ghoul's that didn't get to dance with Ben when she came back to school after the freakend? Sucking in a second deep breath to calm her nerves, she stood up and walked the short distance across the room to Ben, touching his shoulder lightly and drawing his gaze towards her.

"Ben? Can I . . . talk with you for a minute?" she asked. "Out in the hall?"

The wielder of the Omnitrix took one last look at his injured Headmistress before heaving a sigh and climbing to his feet. "I suppose so. Would be nice to have something to take my mind off this."

Cupid felt her pulse quicken as the two of them left the room and walked out into the hall, the young deity leaning against the wall as Ben faced her, waiting; Cupid gulped and sucked in a final breath to steel her nerves before she spoke. "Y-You remember back at the dance, when I was trying to tell you something?"

"Yes." Ben nodded. "I seem to remember you nearly breaking my iCoffin." Ben smirked slightly.

Cupid blushed at this. "W-Well . . . you remember when you asked me out to the dance?"

"I seem to remember you some how managing the break the sound barrier." Ben remarked.

Cupid laughed slightly. "I . . . well, I _really_ like you." she finally admitted. "I know this kinda sounds of cheesy coming from someone like me, but I _love_ you." she said.

Cupid oddly felt relieved once she had gotten those words off of her chest, as if she had originally been forced to carry Sisyphus' own boulder on her shoulders like he had been forced to roll the heavy rock up a hill every day only to watch it roll back down and began the task once more. With a blush upon her face, she looked up to see Ben with a wide smile on his face a crimson tinge to his own face as he took her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze; Cupid instantly felt entranced as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist and took one of her hands in his. This confused the goddess slightly until she realized that Ben was started to move in a slow, rhythmic pattern, waltzing to some invisible song that Cupid was all too eager to pick up.

Soon enough, they were moving in time together, waltzing in that small area in the hallway outside Bloodgood's door, their worries and fears all forgotten for the time being as they simply enjoyed each others embrace and touch after what seemed the longest time that night; Cupid was in heaven as her face warmed up once more, her breath almost catching in her throat when he bent his head down to her level and cupped her cheek in his hand, softly kissing her on the cheek. Within seconds, the young deity hungrily returned the kiss, hugging Ben close to her and pressing her body against his own while she passionately returned the kiss, pleased to notice that Ben was allowing her to do what she want at a speed he was comfortable with. Deciding to experiment and see just how far she could go, Cupid gently inched her tongue forward and carefully rimmed Ben's lips, almost startling with surprise when Ben not only let her do so and explore his mouth, but slide his mouth tongue past her own and quickly submit it into submission; Cupid was breathing heavily, her grip on Ben tightening as she fought back for control and realized that Ben was more experienced at actually kissing and loving than Cupid was, though her advice and wisdom on the subject remained absolute.

Before long, the need for air forced the two of them to separate; Cupid merely took the moment to rest her head in the crook of Ben's neck with a warm smile on her lips and a pink tinge to her face. "I love you, Ben." she moaned.

"I love you, too, Cupid." Ben smiled, giving her a small kiss on the forehead as he hugged her.

 **And there we go!**

 **Now while Angelhands belongs to the wonderful artist _kjmarch,_ I used an Omniverse drawing by the always awesome _Artmachband196_ on DeviantArt; normally, such things as new transformations that haven't appeared in my main stories are only mentioned, but I figured that this could be a one time exception. If you'd like to see more of this though, do not hesitate to tell me. I love feedback (both the alien and the term)!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below! And don't forget to vote on the poll!**

 **Hasta Luego!**


	20. To Love or Not to Love?

_**Happy Holidays,**_ **everyone!**

 _ **Hiya, everyone!**_

 **Oh, great. And here I was hoping to have a story all to myself . . .**

 _ **Nope! Now onto the review answers!**_

 **You don't waste time, do you?**

 _ **As my friend Bunny Blanc would say, "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!"**_

 **What does that have to do with anything?**

 ** _Nothing! Now stop stalling, or else I'll take out my mallet-_**

 **Onto the reviews!**

 _ **marshman101 –**_ **That's the plan if Cupid gets voted #1 again!**

 _ **Menatron the Angel of Ideas –**_ **Yeah, that is one long name. I question why her parents/creators even gave her such a long name. And actually, the reason Bloodgood was out on the road in the first place was to go fetch medicine for Nightmare (the horse got a cold during the winter temperatures). I'll have to go back and make sure that's made clear enough for future readers. Either way, I'm glad you liked it and I can't wait to hear what you have in mind.**

 _ **Karlos1234ify –**_ **Well that's very kind of you to say! Thank you! XD**

 _ **Guest –**_ **I am not an avid watcher of of** ** _Steven Universe,_ mostly because I don't have the time, but I will agree that it is an awesome show that has brought Cartoon Network out of the dreaded . . . _CN Real_ time . . . ugh. I don't want to talk about it . . .**

 _ **masterart –**_ **It would seem our favorite Cheshire stole it from our favorite deity's clutches. Clearly, Cupid should have thought this through better.**

 _ **Morantis –**_ **Now what other version of Cupid would I use? XD And what you say about Monster High is true (believe me, I've tried to place Cupid in multiple other situations, but I found the high school dance option more appealing in almost every way), but don't count on it staying that way for long! There are other stories to tell!**

 _ **maverickmoxey2000 –**_ **Mmmm. A taste of Tennyson. I wonder what that tastes like? The high school dance idea was something I had been thinking about doing for a while, I just wanted to be sure it was the right one and that there wasn't a more interesting option to go for; apparently there wasn't, which I am glad for. And yeah, Ben living with Bloodgood is an idea that I've come to quickly grow to love (why I didn't do that for the first series I will never know . . .). Thanks for the ideas for Nefera, Lilith, and Sirena; I can tell you that at least one made it into this chapter!**

 _ **Kaiju Fan –**_ **Yes, the orb will eventually get to the other fairy tales, too (I would be a moron if I didn't). As for Maddie well-**

 _ **Of course!**_

 **Oh, no you don't! I don't need anymore confusion and insanity than there already is!**

 _ **But-**_

 **No buts! I need at least _one_ sane place to write and this is it, and that's final! No mallet of yours is gonna scare me otherwise! I am putting my Tetramand foot down right he- _YEEEEEOOOW!_**

 _ **Oh, so**_ **that's** ** _where I put my tea set!_**

 **Sweet mother of Swampfire that hurts!**

 _ **Guest –**_ **I still don't think I'll use "Worthless" for any one-shot, mostly because it wouldn't fit with Robecca or Elle and I would have to change the lyrics in order to do so (and I am a horrible song writer). And no, I haven't heard of any of the other songs you mentioned either. And I've been thinking of using the whole 'transformation is a curse' thing for a while, I've just not found the proper ghoul for it. As for writing a chapter where Ben sets up a girl for one of his friends, that would be a 'no'. This series focuses on pairing Ben with ghouls that either didn't appear in any of my two stories or that he just didn't end up with, along with given said harem ghouls a second chance at a monogamous relationship with Ben (most of them anyway).**

 _ **The Hero –**_ **You'll have to wait and see!**

 _ **Royal Rebel –**_ **Unfortunately, Catty will have to wait a little longer. As for Paradox, well, who can really say what the Time Walker has planned? He's a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in riddles, lovingly sprinkled with intrigue, expressed mailed to Mystery, Alaska, shoved to the edges of the universe and space/time. And yes, Cupid will manage to convince Kitty to share her gift with everyone else (loved the ideas by the way!).**

 _ **Dylanben955 –**_ **Thank you! Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!**

 _ **Rexy –**_ **All in due time, my friend. All in due time.**

 **Now, every time I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them. And in the event of a tie, I flip a coin for which ghoul I write about.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Lilith Van Hellscream!**

 **This . . . should be interesting, to say the least. To start out with, Lilith will once again be in her human form but if you guys desire it, I can arrange for her to later assume a permanent monster form like I did in what I guess is to be called my 'mainstream' story. Either way, it's up to you.**

 **So, as always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 ** _Onward!_**

 **Oh, yeah. Totally forgot you were here.**

Lilith stopped at the front, wrought iron gates of Monster High, her breathing catching slightly in her throat when she realized that the school was _far_ more impressive live in person and up close with its high towers and twisted spires that seemed to hold up the sky itself like the mighty titan Atlas had been forced to by the Olympians. Hundreds of ancient, stained glass windows covered the grand walls, thousands of blurry, shadowy figures of varying sizes and shapes moving back and forth just out of sight behind the foreboding, iron gates and imposing, brick walls laced with ivy that separated the outside world from this monster sanctuary. The very thought of so many horrifying creatures all gathered in one place made a small shiver of anticipation travel down her spine; she denied that it might be fear, as her uncle had often told her that a Van Hellscream didn't know the meaning of the word.

Sucking in a deep breath and clutching her books a little tighter to her chest, she quickly blew a strand of dirty blonde hair out of her face and adjusted her monocle before pushing the wrought iron gate open, wincing at the loud, horrendous shriek of rusty metal that echoed across the courtyard and school grounds; the gates opened like a massive maw to her, beckoning her into the nest of her enemies of which there was no escape from. Once she was past the gates, she was on her own from here on out, a thought that made her hesitate slightly before she stepped through the gates and into the courtyard, only to have the iron bars clang shut right behind her from some invisible force.

Now on high alert, Lilith scanned the courtyard for any sign of danger, running through a mental list of every possible monster that she could possibly encounter; ghosts were the most likely culprits, with their ectoplasmic physiology allowing them to fade in and out of sight with little difficulty, not to mention phase through solid objects with little concern or issue. Then there were those few, unlikely humans who had had horrible things done to them that allowed them to become all but invisible to the naked eye if the light did not expose them right away. Finally, there was one of any number of misshaped mutants whose species were entirely unique to monsterology and couldn't be classified under any scientific name or family but a sort of miscellaneous group that was a basic collaboration of any monsters that couldn't be classified with any others.

It almost didn't seem worth it, going this far into enemy territory with nothing to defend herself, but her mission was of the utmost importance. Her uncle, none other than the famed monster hunter Van Hellscream, had heard reports of a Normie, a _human_ , deep within the depths of the monster community; this would have only risen an eyebrow from Lilith upon first glance, but when Van Hellscream had told her, promised her even, that this human, this boy, had managed to not only gain the respect but affections of the monster community, then she was interested. It seemed that this boy had appeared almost out of nowhere, as if he were nothing more than a myth, and had planted himself firmly within the hearts and minds of the monsters of New Salem. Lilith's mission however, was to see if she couldn't get him uprooted and pulled back over to her side, the _right_ side in the unspoken war between human and monster.

She wasn't sure what to expect from such a boy that so little people or monsters even knew about; even her uncle, who was a very influential man in both the human and monster community when his dastardly deeds hadn't been exposed to the later, was absolutely stumped about his origins and pretty much anything else about him. He was a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in riddles, lovingly sprinkled with intrigue, and express mailed to Mystery, Alaska to Lilith, and that was merely scratching the surface of what he could possibly be.

"Hi! You must be the new student!"

Lilith yelped and very nearly dropped her books, scrambling to catch them before they clattered to the ground and holding them back close to her chest, whirling to glare with annoyance at who had disturbed her from her thoughts to find two figures standing behind her, both drastically different and yet similar to one another. The first was a teenage girl about Lilith's physical age that stood just a few inches taller than her and had pale, mint green skin that was crisscrossed and arched by stitches that sliced her beautiful body into sections and pieces that looked like they would fall off at any second; she had heterochromatic eyes with the right one being a light, sky blue and the left one being a dull, ivy green in color, black hair that reached down to her waist that was arched and patterned with lightning white streaks, and full, ruby red lips that were quirked up into a friendly smile. She wore a plaid school girl's dress with a rhinestone belt decorated with chains and a lightning bolt buckle that reached her thighs and showed off her long legs and black and white pumps quite nicely when the attention wasn't being drawn to the pair of large bolts sticking out of her neck that crackled lightly with electricity.

The second figure all but dwarfed the girl standing next to his massive, hulking frame. The creature that towered over Lilith was roughly human-like in appearance with gigantic, well muscled arms tipped with hands and fingers that looked like they were fully capable of crushing her skull with a mere flex of his large muscles and beefy, powerful legs with massive feet that looked like they could have squished her to a bloody pulp had the creature actually landed on her. His dull, gray skin was arched with large stitches that didn't seem to be holding him well together and deep scars that ran right into the raw muscle and tissue beneath his powerful, firm, exposed chest muscles; Lilith found herself actually blushing slightly at that when her attention wasn't drawn away by the many bolts and screws that thrust themselves in what looked like to be an excruciating manner out of his broad shoulders, tenacious muscles, and back. What drew away the most attention however, other than the almost comically small head that boasted a pair of deep, green pools for eyes, a shaggy, black mullet, and a lower jaw with more crooked teeth than Lilith cared to see, were a pair of massive, green conductors that jutted out from the creature's shoulders, allowing a dangerous amount of electricity to crackle and sizzle the air over his head. A pair of heavy, green gauntlets wrapped around his hands and he wore a pair of large, black pants and heavy boots seemingly designed to crush things to bit; an odd symbol was poking out from his right pectoral, a strange disk with a sharp, green hourglass on a black background.

"I . . . I-I . . . I . . ." Lilith stared, stumbling back and falling flat on her butt as she tried to take in all of the strange creature's features.

"Ben, I think you're scaring her." the girl whispered to her partner.

The creature deflated slightly. "It isn't my fault the Omnitrix isn't working right, Frankie." he replied gruffly. "I was _trying_ to dial in Spidermonkey or Ditto, not Frankenstrike."

Based on what the two creatures, ideally named Frankie and Ben/Frankenstrike, Lilith could infer that the two of them were a pair of reanimated corpses cobbled together from multiple body parts most likely raided from graves or morgues from New Salem's many graveyards and surrounding towns. Technically speaking, reanimated cadavers were not a monster species of their own or even considered monsters, as they were really nothing more than a bunch of half-assembled body parts and organs that had spent a little too much time near a massive amount of electricity, but they were not exactly considered humans either for somewhat obvious reasons. They were more somewhere in between the clearly drawn line between man and monster.

Frankie waved off the Transylian's excuse. "Either way, we've got a new student to great and show around!" she smiled brightly, taking Lilith's free hand and giving it a friendly shake. "So what's your name? We don't get a lot of Normies around here."

Lilith blinked; maybe this girl was her ticket to finding who she had come all this way looking for. "My name is Lilith. Lilith . . . uh, Skellington." she lied, deciding that using her uncle's last name would most likely not make her a lot of temporary friends. Otherwise, he would have come here himself to find the mysterious boy they were looking for. "You said there were other humans attending this school?"

"Well, one actually." Frankenstrike corrected.

"Where is he? Who is he?" Lilith asked in a restrained, eager tone.

Frankie grinned brightly, as if she knew a hilarious secret that Lilith didn't. "You're looking at him!" she smiled, gesturing to Frankenstrike.

Lilith frowned and raised an eyebrow as she glanced up at the Transylian with a suspicious look. "Are you sure you aren't suffering from something else other than your mismatched eyes?"

Frankenstrike chuckled heartily. "Give it a moment." he said as the strange, hourglass disk embedded in his chest began to beep and blink brightly before suddenly enveloping the Transylian in a flash of green light that swept over and swamped Frankie and Lilith, blinding the later from seeing what the strange, otherworldly light was doing before it finally died down mere seconds later. The monster hunter cracked open her eyes once she was sure her retinas would not be instantly vaporized and widened them with jaw going slack at what she saw standing in Frankenstrike's place; it was a boy about half a foot taller than her with pale, peach skin, chocolate brown hair, and emerald green eyes. In addition to the brown pants, green and white sneakers, and a black T-shirt with a green stripe down the front behind a white number 10, there was an odd, white watch strapped to his left wrist.

"Wha . . . h-how did . . ." Lilith gaped, completely baffled at the Sphinx had just happened.

Ben chuckled mischievously. "Yeah, I get that a lot." he said, taking her hand and giving it a good shake. "Name's Ben, Ben Tennyson."

Lilith was still completely flabbergasted. "But . . . h-how did . . ?"

Ben gave a smug smile. "Simple really," he said as he held his left wrist so the monster hunter could get a good look at the white, watch-like device on his wrist; unlike a regular watch, there was no tiny clock face with moving hands or digital numbers, it had a black face plate shaped like a square with a white and green color scheme that involved two green stripes forming an outline of an hourglass. "This device is called the Omnitrix. It allows me to turn into dozens of different alien heroes." he explained before he caught sight of Lilith's doubting expression. "And yes, I said _aliens_."

Lilith scoffed slightly. "You mean little green men in spaceships?"

Now it was Ben's turn to scoff. "No, we're talking about four-armed giants that could crush boulders between their hands, living batteries, moth men that can freeze you inside a block of ice . . . and yeah, little gray men that are far smarter than anyone else in this school. Even Ghoulia."

Lilith still looked skeptical. "Maybe she needs another demonstration, Ben?" Frankie suggested.

"Seriously? I just changed back from a Frankenstein monster lookalike and she still doesn't believe me?" Ben sighed; the distrustful look on Lilith's face never wavered. "Okay, fine." he relented, turning on the Omnitrix and cycling through his roster before selecting a transformation and slamming the waiting activation button, swallowing himself in a blast of green light. His frame cracked and groaned as he grew upwards a couple of feet, his skin becoming more tough, flexible, and resilient as patches began to cover his entire face, blinding him until he could no longer distinguish between simple shapes. The condition got so bad that he lost his sense of vision altogether, his eyes withering away to nothing as his ears rotated to the front of eyeless face and exploded in size, becoming more like large flaps than small, fleshy disks. Sharp teeth forced their way out of his gums as his fingers and toes cracked and splintered into claws that burst out of his shoes. And then, miraculously, he could see once more; at first, he could only see the cobblestone courtyard beneath his feet. Then he could see the the school's wall behind him. Then he could see up, down, left, right, forward, backwards, and everything else in between until he could see in every possible direction imaginable all at once as a pair of black and green pants appeared beneath a green belt with the Omnitrix at its center, completing the transformation.

"Peek-a-boo! I see you!" Eye Guy grinned as he randomly blinked his multiple, many eyes while rolling some around in a somewhat frightening manner.

" _AAAAAAHHH!_ " Lilith shivered uncomfortably.

Frankie frowned, cuffing the Opticoid upside the head. "Ben! You're scaring her!"

"But _eye_ was just having a little fun!" Eye Guy protested. "She hasn't _seen_ anything yet!"

Frankie sighed and face palmed herself. "Ben just . . . just stop with the eye puns.

"I'd love to, but I don't fore _see_ it stopping anytime soon!" Eye Guy cracked once more before face palming himself, pulling on his flap-like ears out of exasperation. "I am _so_ sorry." he sighed before the Omnitrix fixed to the green belt around his waist gave off a warning beep and timed out in a blast of green light, returning Ben to the world and the Opticoid DNA back to the Omnitrix's massive genetic database.

"So do you believe in aliens now?" Ben smirked.

"I believe in something alright . . ." Lilith mumbled to herself, sighing and stilling her frazzled nerves; her uncle had told her over and over again that patience was a virtue and that she would most likely have to draw on vast reserves of it to help her deal with all of the horrors and insanity that she would have to deal with once she left the safety of her uncle's mansion and the Normie side of town for the very heart of the monster community. With slimy tentacles that voraciously latched onto anything within range, vampires that swung down from the ceiling to suck any unlucky passerby dry of their vital fluids, and packs of bloodthirsty werewolves roaming the halls like the feral beasts they were, it was going to be one wild ride after another without killing any of them to keep her cover intact. But if this human boy had survived for so long, why couldn't she?

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, we should probably head to class." Frankie spoke up, shaking Lilith out of her thoughts as the young cadaver offered her a hand; Lilith reluctantly inched her hand forward and sucked in a sharp breath when Frankie lunged forward to eagerly grab her hand and shake it much to Lilith's cold surprise. She was starting to relax into it, finding that Frankie's hand, while slightly cooler and a little more clammy than a living human's, was surprisingly comforting to the touch. That is, until the stitches that circumnavigated her wrist and held her hand to her arm came undone.

"Oh, my god!" Lilith yelled as the hand freely wiggled its fingers around in her own hand, breaking free and proceeding to skitter up her arm like a spider while Lilith instinctively held still as the hand climbed over her shoulder and across her chest before running down her leg and across the pavement.

"Not again!" Frankie cried as she chased after her mischievous hand. "I'll see you later, Ben! Give Lilith the tour!" the young cadaver called over her shoulder in chase of her missing limb.

"I guess she's a little shorthanded." Ben joked lightly.

Lilith shivered uncomfortably. "D . . . D-Does that happen very often?" she quivered with hidden disgust.

Ben shrugged. "Not really. Frankie's stitching just comes lose at the oddest times," he explained. "Worst case scenario, her entire body falls apart and we end up having to play puzzle when Frankie as the pieces."

"And she's _alive_ during all this!?"

"Alive and very ticklish, too." Ben gave a small grin as he held out his hand; for a split second, Lilith half expected his hand to come off as well, but she quickly shrugged this off as being completely ridiculous and took the offered hand in her own, noting how firm and strong his fingers were compared to the delicate digits that tipped her own (granted those digits were tipped with razor-sharp nails that could have easily been mistaken for railroad spikes, but that was besides the point) while Ben led her towards the doors of Monster High.

Lilith felt her breath catch in throat, her jaw drop, and her eyes widen as the two of them pushed open the main entrance doors and stepped into the school's main lobby, a comfortably carpeted place with the school's skullete embezzled on the floor where two grand stair cases met and leaned against the second floor like ancient leviathans in need of rest; a looming grandfather clock with an extra hour at its top center stood between the two staircases, looking down upon the sea of monsters like a watchful eye. But it wasn't the surprisingly cultured architecture that caught Lilith off guard, rather it was the sheer amount of _monsters._

They were everywhere and of every shape and size and species; a pack of werewolves were sitting on one of the steps laughing and chatting away while occasionally letting out a long, mournful howl to be heard over the hustle and bustle beneath them as ghosts and spirits flew and zipped through the air overhead among clouds of bats and the out of place harpy. Lilith watched as a ghoul with glistening black skin and four extra pairs of arms and two extra pairs of ruby eyes lowered herself down from the ceiling on a silken strand of webbing and descended down to playfully surprise a stone gargoyle and copper plated android while a yeti with a harsh stare and quite literally an icy exterior ignored the pleading and begging of what Lilith identified to be a fire elemental.

"So many monsters . . ." Lilith whispered.

"You scared?" Ben asked her.

"No. Just . . . surprised." the monster hunter replied uneasily; so many monsters in one place, so many ways to slip up and die without her guard up. Sensing her anxiety, Ben took her free hand in his, interlacing his fingers in hers and giving her palm a comforting squeeze, a hint of amusement crossing his face when Lilith returned it with an ironclad grip. The wielder of the Omnitrix then led her down a hallway, gently pulling her along as her eyes flickered back and forth at the monsters she passed by, trying to avoid their confused looks and sometimes harsh glares sent her way; despite her vast knowledge of monster anatomy and behavior, her mind was painfully drawing a blank at the sheer amount of monsters that were packed into one place, some of them she hadn't even heard of or seen before.

Ben however, seemed unphased by the monsters whatsoever. In fact he seemed to placed at the top of whatever social hierarchy there was in this festering mixing pot of various monster species; Lilith felt a shiver of disgust run up her spine when she caught sight of more than a few ghouls sighing lovingly or starring longingly at Ben as he walked by and gave them a friendly wave and her pulse quicken whenever a couple members of the Casketball team came by and clapped him on the back, praising him for the last game and giving him friendly noogies when they weren't high-fiving him.

"H-How . . . how is this possible?" Lilith wondered.

"How is what possible?" Ben wondered as he pulled her into a classroom and walked her towards the back of the classroom to sit at the top, farthest back set of seats; when she gave him an inquisitive look, he nodded down towards the front where an overweight man with burly, hairy arms, crooked teeth, and a sewn mask to cover his disfigured face threw them an incredulous look, as if he wanted the two of them to suddenly burst into flames, before he set back to work on the day's lesson.

"How are you doing that? I thought all monsters hated humans?" Lilith whispered to him, somehow getting the feeling that if she talked to loud that the hunched man at the front of the class would interject with a rude comment of his own that would cut right to her core.

Ben shrugged. "Some do, and I can't really blame them from everything Mr. Rotter's been showing us," he shivered slightly. "Almost makes me ashamed to be a human in the first place."

"How bad could it be?" Lilith wondered.

"Trust me when I say you _don't_ want to know." Ben told her. "Frankie had to be sent home after that class she was so traumatized and didn't return until Cleo lent her a memory wiping amulet so she'd forget the whole thing. Even I'm scared at what we've done."

"It was that bad?" Lilith's eyes widened.

Ben nodded grimly. "Even Mr. Rotter was terrified by the time the documentary ended. He wouldn't come out of the Creature's lounge for two hours straight."

" _OY!_ What did I say about talking in me class!?" the grizzly man below them snapped angrily.

"Class hasn't started yet, Mr. Hackington." Ben reminded him with a roll of his eyes as other monsters started to ebb and trickle into the classroom with books under their arms and their attentions towards their friends or towards the two humans sitting in the back of the class. Lilith watched as a variety of monsters made their way into the classroom, ranging from vampires that hissed and narrowed their eyes upon catching sight of her to werecats and werewolves that growled and hissed angrily upon catching wind of her scent, not quite trusting of her yet. What caught Lilith's attention the most was when a short, pale skinned zombie with wavy, pale, electric blue hair and horn-rimmed glasses positioned over her somewhat lazy eyes shuffled her way to the back of the class and took a seat down next to Ben, utterly dwarfed by his frame as she positioned her books to the side and gave him a friendly, lopsided smile.

" _Ahhhhhuuuuuiieeaa._ " the zombie moaned.

"Morning to you, too, Ghoulia." Ben grinned. "How's my sis doing?"

Lilith watched with wide eyes as Ghoulia moaned something off again and happily hugged Ben with a loving manner, her jaw dropping when she realized that Ben wasn't disgusted in the slightest and actually returned the warm embrace with genuine care. "Sis?"

Ben shrugged. "Me and Ghoulia-

"Enough talkin' already!" Mr. Hackington shouted to his class before he pulled open a desk drawer and pulled out a thick stack of papers. "Pop quiz! And it'll be worth ninety-nine percent of your grade!" he cackled evilly as the class groaned and moaned with disappointment.

"He can't do that!" Lilith hissed.

"He can and he will." Ben whispered back before glancing up at the burly madman as he continued to laugh wickedly at his student's misfortune as they passed the thick tests back and through the rows of seats to each other. "Look, just copy off of me this one class, okay? Trust me when I say you don't want to fail this test."

"What happens if I fail? I am not cheating." Lilith frowned.

"You clean out the Pit of Horror. With a spoon." Ben replied as he was handed a set of tests that he distributed to both Ghoulia and Lilith, the former taking it somewhat eagerly while she scribbled down her name. "Hope you like tentacles."

* * *

Lilith's nerves were jittery as she was finally allowed to leave the Mad Science classroom, saved by the glorious ringing of the bell with Ben and Ghoulia on either side of her to support her; blackened ash and soot covered her face and her clothes were slightly tattered and burnt as she coughed out a mouthful of smoke with a hoarse note. "Wh . . . Wh-What kind of horror was that!?" she croaked.

"That's Mr. Hackington's idea of a practical joke." Ben comforted her, stealing her books from her as she wobbled down the hall with him and Ghoulia supporting her. "If the surprise tests that he gives don't get him laughing to the point where he chokes, he sometimes deliberately gives some students the wrong potion recipes for lab experiments; he loves it when they explode."

" _Ahhhhhieeeeeehhhhh._ " Ghoulia moaned.

Ben nodded. "Oh, and he loves picking on the new students, too."

Lilith shuddered as she was led through another doorway and careful sat down on a soft couch, something she greatly appreciated; looking around she found herself in a considerably spacious room with large couches laden with plush pillows and a few cozy blankets around a low coffee table piled with magazines in one corner and what looked like to be a ping-pong table with claw-tipped paws carved into the legs and a pool table with gaping, monstrous maws shaped like horrifying creatures for all six of the holes. A vending machine filled with various snacks, everything from sugar eyeballs and Count Chocula bars to tentacle taffy and live sour worms sat next to a second vending machine that served a variety of drinks. "My old school never had anything like this . . ." Lilith murmured.

"Student lounge. It's only open to those that receive high grades in certain classes." Ben explained.

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "No offense to either of you, but you don't really look like a genius, and last I checked zombies had about an IQ as high as a rock's." she noted. Ghoulia seemed seriously offended at this and turned away from Lilith with arms folded across her chest and a large pout on her lips, looking very much like she actually wanted to eat Lilith's brains just to show her a thing or two.

"That, my horribly misinformed friend, would be false." Ben coughed, catching Ghoulia's attention and throwing her a look; the zombie sighed and rolled her eyes to return back to the conversation with a slightly less irked look upon her pale features. "True, some zombies are a little less than a three-watt bulb, but most of them have the intelligence of your average human; a few, like Ghoulia, are even smarter."

"What, do they get smarter with every brain they eat?" Lilith narrowed her eyes suspiciously; Ghoulia frowned and promptly smacked the monster hunter upside the head, huffing with annoyance as Lilith resisted the urge to slay the monster right then and there and chose to instead hide behind Ben like a frightened puppy behind its master's legs.

"That whole 'zombies-eating-brains' thing is total garbage." Ben chuckled slightly. "Ghoulia would eat burgers over brains any day."

Lilith sucked in a breath to calm herself, slightly relieved at the fact that a large portion of the Monster High populace did not want to eat her for their upcoming lunch. "Okay, so I'm not on the menu. I still don't believe any zombie could be that smart. My uncle said that since they're undead, their brains rotted away a long time ago, leaving little to no room for intelligence."

Ben rolled his eyes. "True, some zombies are reanimated corpses, but most of them, like Ghoulia, are actually born zombies, meaning they're a lot smarter than their parents, though not necessarily faster." he explained; a glance at Lilith's expression told him that she was still having a hard time believing that anything that could look in two different directions at once and lacked anything even close to working vocal cords could be smarter than she was, something Ghoulia was getting more and more ticked off by,

" _Aiieeeeyaaaahhhhh._ _Eeeeeiaaaahh._ " Ghoulia moaned.

"What? What did she say?" Lilith asked.

Ben had a smug smirk on his face. "She wants to see our tests."

"You can understand that thing?" Lilith gaped, earning a second smack upside the head.

"Yes, and that _thing_ can understand you, too." Ben added as he dug out the piece of paper that had the latest pop quiz printed on it and handed it to Ghoulia. Lilith leaned to look over the zombie's shoulder to see her score, a lowly 69/100 printed in red ink scrawled over her name, compared to Ben and Ghoulia's, the former an average 81/100, and the later a perfect score plus five extra points with the extra credit question that had stumped Lilith to the point where her brain hurt.

"Not to mention that _thing_ scored higher than the both of us." Ben added with a smirk. Lilith merely stared at Ghoulia with shock as the zombie gave a triumphant, odd smile and handed the two tests back to Ben before she slipped her own test back into her backpack; a quick glance into her backpack exposed some of the hardest classes Monster High offered, everything from Advanced Clawculus and Dragonomics to Monsterlecular Biteology and multiple notes for the Scary Aptitude Test (SAT) that would have made her hurl if she even attempted to read them.

Was it possible that . . . that her uncle had been wrong about monsters? Her uncle had taught her from a very young age, ever since her parents had disappeared under mysterious circumstances, that zombies were one of the most common of monsters and could be found in the most uncommon and disgusting of places, sometimes appearing en mass in graveyards for no apparent reason and occasionally causing a backup in the local sewers for other reasons that Lilith did not understand. Zombies were also supposed to be slow-moving yet frightfully savage creatures that shuffled after anything with a beating heart and pulsing brain to sustain their endless appetite for the living, yet here they seemed to prefer foods that Lilith herself would have indulged in on a daily basis. The final thing she had learned from her uncle was that, despite their sheer numbers, zombies were dumber than rocks and were so stupid it was easy to trick a single or small group of zombies, but a large horde of the walking dead was near impossible to without the right incentive; yet Ghoulia had managed to garner a perfect score on a test only she and Ben had received lower grades on, and a pair of zombies had just walked into the student lounge with a chess board in hand.

"Okay, okay, so zombies aren't stupid." Lilith relented, earning a satisfied smile from Ghoulia. "But that doesn't explain why you're here." she added to Ben.

"When you wear a device on your wrist that lets you turn into hundreds of alien species that occasionally bare resemblance to various monster species, you have a certain knack for Biteology and Deadbating." Ben explained with a knowing grin. "Not to mention a much sought after player for the sports teams."

 _ **BRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!**_

Ben perked up at the sound of the bell. "Speaking of sports . . ." he said as he tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through the available roster. Before Lilith could ask what he was doing, he had selected a transformation and slammed a hand down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a blast of green light that warped and shifted his genetic code into something new. Light blue fur sprouted all over Ben's body in a short layer, covering him from head to toe before his arms and thighs shed every last of it off of him, exposing deep, black skin beneath the blanket of fur; black spots appeared in random places all over his body while his bones hollowed out and became lightweight and strong, filling with sturdy beams of sorts that supported their structure while muscles piled themselves onto his limbs, packing themselves particularly tight in his chest and thighs. His fingers strengthened as they grew into sharp and pointed claws with a loud cracking noise like that of splintering wood. A long, feline-like tail with a blackened tip arched out from the base of his spine, cracking back and forth with anticipation as his toes molded together into a pair of sturdy paws and his ears sharpened like a cat's, rotating to the top of his head as if they were floating on liquid metal; a handful of sensitive whiskers sprouted on Ben's face as his teeth cracked and ground into sharp canines while his lungs and hearts expanded and bloated to a considerable size for his body. The final piece of the transformation was the addition of a black and green track suit, a pair of green-tinted goggles, and the Omnitrix at the center of a belt around his waist.

"What are you doing?" Lilith asked just before the Citrakayah grabbed her by her belt and placed her upon his back much to her protest as she struggled and fought to get back on the floor, despite how many times Fasttrack easily overpowered her and kept her in place; Ghoulia was less of a struggle as she quickly packed up all of their things and shrugged her backpack on her shoulders before handing the Citrakayah both his and Lilith's backpacks and climbing onto his shoulders and holding on tightly to his head and wrapping her fingers around his jaw.

Lilith demanded. "Put me down!"

"Not unless you wanna be late for class!" Fasttrack grinned; Lilith only had a split second to comprehend what he was talking about before her entire world was a blur of colors, nothing more than miscellaneous shapes that whizzed by her so fast her mind couldn't even tell what they were. It took her a few split seconds to realize that the world wasn't moving fast, but it was her hanging on for dear life as she whipped behind Fasttrack like a kite in the wind while the Citrakayah raced through the halls at speeds racescar drivers only dreamed of reaching.

This was about the point at which she started screaming.

"Sphinx, she acts like she's never gone over three-hundred miles per hour before." Fasttrack rolled his eyes as he shot off down a hallway like a rocket, sending papers scattering and banging open locker doors; Heath Burns was unfortunate enough to be too clumsy to twist or duck out of the way fast enough and was consequently run over, flattened against the floor with a low groan while Fasttrack cast a quick apology over his shoulder.

" _Eiiiiaaaahhhheeee._ " Ghoulia moaned in his ear.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Most of 'em are wimps anyway." he joked.

Lilith protested. "I heard that! Can't we slow down!?"

Fasttrack got a mischievous smirk upon his face. "If you say so." he grinned before slamming a hand on the Omnitrix fastened to his belt and engulfing himself in a flash of green light before deliberately jumping over the edge of the railing of the second floor; Lilith screamed with fear as they plummeted while Ghoulia raised her arms above her head like she was on a roller coaster ride.

A coating of light blue fur raced over his body, covering him from head to toe as his spine arched and forced him down into a hunched position just as his fingers molded together like hot candle wax into three, firm digits designed to grasp and swing as his toes lengthened and became more akin to hands; Ben's skin flashed a darker shade of blue as his shoulders swelled slightly and became muscled and furry while his chest expanded and muscles and tissue piled themselves up onto his body, allowing him to carry more than four times his weight if necessary. His skeleton crunched and snapped loudly as he was compressed down to the size of a large dog, his spine arching and cracking loudly before a long, prehensile tail snaked out from the base of his spine, cracking back and forth out of eagerness as several special organs formed at the base of the appendage. His lower jaw was thrust outwards as the warm fur covered his face and his eyes split into two more green pairs as the shaggy hair on his head flipped up to form a pair of furry horns. The most dramatic transformation however, was when a pair of identical arms to his original pair suddenly burst out from his sides underneath him, flexing and moving on their own and stealing the two backpacks in his grasp while two, green sashes formed across Ben's chest with the Omnitrix at the center, completing the transformation.

" _This isn't what I had in mind!_ " Lilith screamed even louder as they fell.

" _Ook! Ook!_ I know! I'm just monkeyin' with ya!" Spidermonkey chattered excitedly as they plummeted; at the last second, the Arachnichimp flicked his tail up and fired off a strong, silken thread up at the ceiling, pulling all three of them up and shifting Ghoulia and Lilith's position to a more comfortable place on his smaller frame as he hurled them right into the air without difficulty, much to Lilith's horror. Spidermonkey hurled them along, throwing them through the air and landing on a stair banister, sliding down the railing and moving his legs back and forth in a complex manner that greatly confused Lilith before they shot off the railing and landed with a loud _thump!_ back on the ground in front of the gym doors.

Naturally, Spidermonkey received a perfect score, though there were points taken off for the landing.

"I think . . . I _think_ I can feel my heart again . . . I think . . ." Lilith breathed with fear.

"Oh, come on! _Ook! Ook!_ " Spidermonkey rolled all six of his eyes as Ghoulia climbed off of him and helped Lilith stagger to her feet. "It's nothing to go ape over!"

Ghoulia rolled her eyes. " _Ahhhhiiee. Ayyyiiee._ "

"Hey, my jokes are great! _Ook! Ook!_ "

Lilith sucked in a breath and quickly sobered up, recomposing herself into a more regal position. "I beg to differ." she said. "Why are we here anyways?"

"Physical Deaducation. It's a required class for every monster _and_ Normie." the Arachnichimp emphasized much to the monster hunter's disappointment. "So get changed and I'll see you on the other side! _Ook! Ook!_ "

Lilith gulped. "Why does that not make me feel any better?" she sighed as she followed Ghoulia into the ghouls locker room; upon being registered at Monster High, she was issued a Monster High logoed T-shirt to wear during Physical Deaducation, as dictated by the rules. Plain shorts or sweats of any color were also acceptable, as long as the footwear was athletic. Lilith understood why this rule was applied, it nonetheless confused her as she changed out of her usual attire and into the somewhat revealing gym clothes she had stashed away in her backpack for the day.

"Why are they so insistent on us wearing athletic shoes?" Lilith wondered as she slipped a pair of dirty sneakers she hadn't worn for months on end onto her feet, wincing when she realized they were a tad too small for comfort.

" _Eeeeeeyyaiieeeeaahhh._ " Ghoulia moaned while the zombie opened a small case and took off her white horn-rimmed glasses and folded them up before placing a thicker, black-colored pair upon her face and tying her flowing, electric blue locks back into a long, luscious ponytail.

"Uh . . . what?" Lilith blanked.

"She said it's because of the 'Clawdeen Wolf Rule', mate." a blue-skinned ghoul smiled; upon closer inspection, Lilith realized that the ghoul was actually covered in small, blue scales that were waxed over with a thin sheen of wet slime to keep them moisturized. Sharp, blue fins jutted out from her elbows and ankles with a row of gills hidden under her curly, blonde locks and embedded in her neck that fluttered open every now and again and sucked in a breath of wet air before closing once more.

"Name's Lagoona. Lagoona Blue." the sea monster introduced herself, sticking out her hand and revealing thin webbing between her fingers; Lilith hesitated for a split second before taking Lagoona's hand in hers and shaking it, resisting the urge to shudder at the wet, slimy feeling.

"Lilith. Lilith . . . Swampman." she lied once more, unable to remember the last name she had used earlier; she really hoped that wouldn't come back to bite her in the bite soon with poison-tipped fangs. "What's the Clawdeen Wolf Rule?" she asked.

"You see that ghoul over there?" Lagoona asked her, pointing to a monster a little ways away that was combing her long, luscious, chocolate locks with a hairbrush and pulling out a frightening amount of loose hair out while doing so. The ghoul was covered from head to toe in a short layer of brown fur possessed a pair of pointed, canine ears, a set of pointed fangs, and a pair of sharp, golden eyes that were usually found on apex predators with excellent night vision. "That's Clawdeen Wolf."

"What's so special about her?" Lilith wondered.

Lagoona laughed a little. "Before the rule was set up, Clawdeen was the fastest ghoul alive, no matter what shoes she wore. She once ran an entire mile in less than two minutes in high wedges!" the sea monster added. "Unfortunately, some ghouls started to . . . idolize her, is what I suppose you could call it; lets just say that there were a lot of broken feet and twisted ankles before the rule was put in place, mate."

Lilith winced, earning a playful laugh from Lagoona. "C'mon, mate, I'm only teasin' ya!"

"So . . . it's just a joke?" Lilith guessed; she didn't know monsters could have such a bizarre sense of humor.

Lagoona shook her head. "No, it's all true." she told her before she glanced at the clock. "Crikey! We're gonna be late!" she yelped, grabbing Lilith's wrist and pulling her towards the doors that led to the gymnasium; even Ghoulia had managed to beat the two of them out there where she casually stood in a row with the rest of the class, dwarfed by everyone else save for Spidermonkey.

"What are we doing?" Lilith whispered as a short, hunched man with odd, kooky eyes, a large hump, and a whistle between his protruded lips.

"Graveball." Lagoona hissed back.

Lilith gulped. " _Please_ tell me that doesn't involve actually coffins and dead bodies." she whimpered.

A blast of green drew her attention away for a second as she watched the steady evolution of the Omnitrix work its magic as it returned Ben to the world, bringing him back up to his full height and standing as tall or taller than a majority of the ghouls and guys, with the exception of several that Lilith recognized to be members of various sports teams that had been seen high-fiving Ben in the hallways.

"Nah, we never do anything that gruesome. Although, we do occasionally play in a graveyard." Ben reassured her.

Lilith was resisted the urge to scream obscenities about respect for the dearly departed, especially considering quite a fair amount of said departed actually currently attended the school. Instead, she watched as the gym teacher, Mr. Igor, quickly divided them up into two teams; Lilith had fortunately been placed on a team with Ben and Ghoulia, along with Clawdeen and a pair of ghosts by the names of Spectra Vondergeist and Kiyomi Haunterly, a nopperabōu if Lilith wasn't mistaken, that were a little close together and holding hands than Lilith thought was necessary. The other team was comprised of Lagoona, Manny Taur, a severely bad tempered minotaur and the tallest student in the class, Heath Burns, a somewhat awkward and womanizing fire elemental that was as clumsy as he was dimwitted, Draculaura, a surprisingly _very_ pink vampire and what Lilith realized to be the true small fry of the class, Deuce Gorgon, a gorgon with a particularly nasty head of reptilian locks, a pair of red shades to prevent an accidental stoning, and a cool attitude, and a Hexican skeleton by the name of Skelita.

"So how do we play?" Lilith asked nervously.

Clawdeen smirked a toothy smile as the teams lined up at the middle of the gym with a rough, stitch covered ball in her grip. "In your case, try not to get mauled."

The monster hunter raised an eyebrow and turned to Ben as he fiddled with the Omnitrix and selected a transformation. "Should I be concerned?" she asked.

"To be honest, probably not. Just avoid Manny and you'll live." he shrugged off before he slammed a hand down on the activation button and encompassed himself in a blast of green light. Hard, metal plating raced up his back and front, melting together into a single shield as his shoulders crunched and cracked loudly, broadening while they became rounded and massive; flexible, black tubing covered the skin between his elbow and shoulder. Ben's arms began to swell, metal plating taking the place of his skin as his bones and muscles fused together before sending out thousands upon thousands of sensitive nerve endings that connected them to the armor that now encased Ben in a tight, yellow shell. His hands trembled and splintered loudly as they suddenly changed into sharp, gray claws while a large piston formed on the back of each of his elbows, merging with his arms underneath the armor. Metal plating enveloped his head and formed something that resembled a Greek Corinthian helmet as two, small, pointed ears slipped out from beneath the armor just as his feet turned into hard, metallic claws; the Omnitrix appeared on his broad chest as a short tail slithered out from the base of his spine, completing the transformation.

" _Ay caramba._ " Skelita winced once the light died down to reveal a very large and durable Talpaedan standing over his team like an unstoppable, brick wall; the skeleton was oblivious to how Lilith was shuddering at the sight of her bare spinal cord and leg bones were soft skin and tissue would have made such a sight less horrific to look at.

"Presto-changeo all you want, Tennyson! I'll still squash ya like a bug!" Manny snorted cockily, pawing the ground with his head lowered and horns aimed at the opposing team, ready to gore them if necessary; a shrill whistle from Mr. Igor signaled for the game to begin and the two sides quickly clashed. Before Lilith could even tell what was going on, the Graveball appeared in her hands and she suddenly had the attention of the entire opposing team.

"Forget Tennyson!" Manny snorted as he came charging right for her. "I'm gonna squash you instead!" The minotaur came rushing at her like a freight train, an unstoppable force that didn't let anything stand in his way; Kiyomi and Spectra were brushed aside like thin air and Clawdeen just barely avoided getting trampled as she rushed in front of him to try and goad Lilith into tossing the Graveball to her, but the monster hunter was absolutely frozen with fear. She couldn't understand why she was like this, why her legs were locked in place and her feet refused to move, why her hands barely kept a hold on the ball and sweat dripped down her brow in fear. She had gone up against blood-sucking vampires, lake monsters more than ten times her size, harpies that could have easily yanked her arms out of her sockets, yet she was completely frozen in place out of fear of the hulking minotaur.

"Lilith! Move!" Spectra yelled as Manny bore down on Lilith.

Mere seconds before Lilith would be sent flying clear across the gym and tossed around like a rag, the raging minotaur was suddenly slammed into from the side and tackled to the floor by Armodrillo; the two hulking giants went rolling, their arms and legs locked together as they pushed and strained to try and gain an upper hand on the other for their team. "Run, Lilith, run!" the Talpaedan grunted.

That seemed to shake the monster hunter out of her frozen state of fear. With a deep breath, she tucked the Graveball under her arm and charged blindingly into the fray, squeezing her eyes shut as she charged right at Deuce and slammed as much force as possible into the gorgon to knock him down to the ground while simultaneously jamming her elbow into Heath's gut as she madly pumped her arms to keep running. Lilith was suddenly tackled from behind by Lagoona, the two ghouls sent rolling across the floor before the former managed to break free and pop back up to her feet to continue running.

"Hey, ghoul! Over here!" Clawdeen shouted, waving her arms to catch her attention.

Lilith nodded and chucked the Graveball as hard as she could, running right towards the designated goal as the werewolf raised her arms to try and pull the ball out of the air and close to her chest; an enraged bellow drew her attention away for a brief second as Manny tackled her from behind, leaving the Graveball dead in the air until Armodrillo managed to snatch it up and plow his way straight for the finish. Lilith's eyes widened as she watched the Talpaedan run, an unstoppable force that couldn't be slowed in anyway as the opposing team all but threw themselves at him to try and slow him down. By the time he crossed the goal line, he had but Manny hanging onto him and try to hold him down, the minotaur otherwise occupied with Clawdeen as the werewolf returned his aggression blow for blow.

"Touchdown!" Armodrillo cheered as he spiked the ball into the floor; the opposing team released their hold on him and fell to the ground out of exhaustion just before the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world. Coach Igor blew his whistle with a shrill note and signaled for the teams to line up for the next play, much to Lilith's fear when she caught sight of the way Manny was looking at her.

* * *

Lilith wasn't sure which hurt more, getting blown up by a volatile concoction that had been purposely rigged to explode by man who could groom himself for ticks or getting repeatedly rammed and trampled over by a Minotaur that seemed dead set on using her as a target; at least, that was what the monster hunter told herself when Ben all but dragged her out of Physical Deaducation and bid farewell to Ghoulia as the zombie departed for Dragonometry. "Yeesh. You got pounded." Ben winced. "I think you need some fresh air.

Lilith nodded, trembling as Ben led her down the hall and out the main doors to sit on the front steps. "How is that even _legal?_ "

Ben shrugged. "Compared to humans, monsters are a lot tougher and more durable. If it helps, the first time I played against Manny I crashed into him so hard he couldn't see straight for two hours."

"Why would that make me feel any better?"

Ben grinned sheepishly. "Uh . . ." he started to say before an ominously familiar sound caught their attention; the wielder of the Omnitrix, thankful for the distraction, turned his focus back inside and down the hall just in time to see Manny come barreling down the corridor at top speed. The minotaur's eyes were absolutely furious as he snorted with rage, his shoulders swinging as he clenched his fists tight and his feet pounded the floor and anyone or anything that didn't get out of the way in time with his sights set on Lilith.

"Oh, Gorgon eyeballs." Lilith whimpered quietly.

"I got this." Ben told her bravely, pushing himself in front of her as he cycled through the Omnitrix in search of a transformation that was either strong enough or durable enough to go toe to toe with the rampaging minotaur or, at the very least, be able to take a hit. He eventually found a suitable transformation and slammed a hand down on the activation just in the nick of time, engulfing himself in a blast of green light that scrambled and shifted his genetic code into something new and not of this world. The soft skin of his head began to harden into a cool, organic substance comparable to that of plastic as his joints became more rigid and stiff the more the red in his fingers traveled up his widening arms; his limbs swelled and bulked up to a considerable size, becoming cubular in shape as his shoulders rounded and smoothed out to tapper swimmingly into his short neck and arms. A loud cracking noise filled the air as Ben's jaws jutted outwards as his brow became thick and heavy, becoming greatly pronounced as it turned yellow and several bony knobs formed all along his changing body. The colors red, yellow, and blue across his skin as a loud crunching noise the air when his legs suddenly compressed and compacted into limbs less than half of their original size; his hands swelled to over-sized proportions as the rest of his features became blocky and cube-like, the transformation ending as the Omnitrix relocated itself to the middle of his chest.

Bloxx socked his fist into his open hand as Manny bore down on the two of them. "Welcome to the block party, kid. Hope yer hungry 'cause I'm serving knuckle sandwiches!"

This didn't seem to phase the minotaur in the slightest as the Segmentasapien quickly morphed and reconfigured his body into a protective dome over Lilith with a loud clattering noise similar to that of a hundred plastic bricks knocking against each other, forming an all but impenetrable fortress that Manny could spend the next several hours trying to get in and failing. So it came as a great surprise to both Bloxx and Manny where Lilith quickly scrambled up the Segmentasapien's backside and launched herself through the air like a missile, slamming into his chest and jamming her fingers into three distinct points upon his collar and breastbone; the minotaur immediately seized up and slumped to the ground with a groan, glaring up at Lilith and Bloxx with confusion and disdain.

"What . . . ugh, did you . . . do to me?" he moaned.

Lilith gave off a smug smirk as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world, an equally surprised look upon his face. "Minotaur Death Grip." she replied, blowing her nails and shining them in an obvious show of triumph. "Just a little something I picked up."

"Where?" Ben asked, clearly impressed as Iris Clops, a petite, green-skinned cyclops that was absolutely dwarfed by Manny's massive frame and bore a single, wide, green eye in the center of her face above a pair of small, lime green lips and framed quite well against her a pair of moss green braids, stomped up to the group, gave Ben a shy wave, and proceeded to grab Manny by his boot and drag him off inch by inch at a time while scolding him in between yanks; the minotaur could do little else but listen and wait until his temporary paralysis wore off, though not before he cast an annoyed look at Lilith.

Lilith fought back the urge to swallow nervously and instead just ran her fingers through her dirty blonde hair with a sheepish smile on her lips. "W-Well . . . my uncle does a lot of traveling. You pick things up here and there."

Ben whistled with surprise. "Impressive," he commented. "Think you could teach me that some time? It'd certainly help the next time Manny sees red . . . literally." the wielder of the Omnitrix chuckled at his own joke, earning a slight snicker from Lilith as well; an inkling of a warm, tender feeling wormed its way inside of her chest, making Lilith oddly both comfortable and discomforted. In the back of her head she was trying to remember the last time she had genuinely laughed for a humorous reason and not to seem polite at some of the grand parties and seminars her uncle, and by association her, would be invited to whenever someone told a poorly executed joke that had a horrible punchline.

Thinking of her uncle however, reminded her of the mission she had been sent to accomplish in the first place, infiltrating and taking out the enemy from the inside out with what would hopefully prove to be a sleeper agent of sorts; Lilith rubbed her arm uncomfortably and bit her lip. "Ben . . . d-do you ever . . . get tired of going to school with monsters?" she asked in what she hoped her acting skills would play off as an innocent tone. "Don't you miss being around people?"

"I am around people." Ben replied with a shrug, gesturing with wide arms towards the school itself. " _These_ are my kinds of people. Sure, they might have fangs or horns or tentacles depending on the species, but it'd be hypocritical of me to say that I don't enjoy being around them. The Omnitrix lets me walk in the footsteps of millions of alien species, and by extension I get to know and understand how my friends and what I've come to consider family feel; how they walk, run, play, learn, talk, and even love. And I love every second of it. I wouldn't trade it for anything else!" he said with a grin.

Lilith shifted uncomfortably. "Oh." was all she had to say. Unlike Ben, who seemed to be at the top of the social ladder and very good at keeping it that way whether he intended to or not, Lilith was not one of the most well liked students back at her own school on the other side of New Salem and was only ever actually listened to because of her heritage and her invaluable knowledge of the monster species whenever the issue arose; she couldn't recall how many times she was only noticed whenever a stray gargoyle appeared in the girls bathroom or a tentacle beast had somehow ended up in the chili that was to be served in the cafeteria and then quickly forgotten once the issue had been taken care of. The only people she could even consider friends were two goons that she couldn't even remember the names of who had the combined intelligence of a crate of lettuce.

She couldn't believe she was saying this, but she actually felt . . . somewhat wanted here at Monster High.

"Lilith?"

The monster hunter shook herself out of her thoughts after Ben called her name for what might have been the tenth time. "Lilith, are you okay?" Ben asked.

"F-Fine. I was just curious." Lilith waved it off. "What do we have now?"

Ben raised a suspicious eyebrow but shrugged it off for the time being. "Right now we have a free period. We can go or do whatever we need or want as long as we're back before the next bell rings."

Lilith was intrigued if only a slight bit; her school never had anything of the likes. When it came to Normie schools, it was all about sitting in a classroom and listening to the teacher lecture and drone on until the next bell rang and sent one off to repeat the process all over again. The only time anything was ever changed up was when an assembly was called, the occasional science experiment was taken, and the usual slaughterfest that was physical education. Here, things were far more laid back and relaxed, offering incentives and special privileges to encourage students to do well in their classes and keep up with their grades; the most encouragement one ever got back at New Salem High was the threat of a parent/teacher conference with the principal. And now that she thought about it, Monster High was a lot less dull than her old school, with no one student ever looking the same or sharing the same experience, embracing their freaky flaws and being proud of what it meant to be a monster.

She couldn't believe she was saying this, but it actually sounded like it could be . . . _fun_ to be a monster.

"You wanna go grab something to eat?" Ben asked her, shaking her out of her thoughts once more and catching her off guard.

Lilith faltered for a second. "Like . . . a d-date?"

Ben laughed. "If you want to think about it like that, sure. We could go to Brain Burger if you want."

"They don't actually serve brains made out burgers, do they?"

Ben smirked in a sarcastic manner. "No, they generally make them into fries." he joked; Lilith attempted to hold back a giggle at the back of her throat, clapping her hands over her mouth when it started to come out as random snicker until she couldn't any longer and finally gave a hysterical laugh as she doubled over when she started to snort every now and again as well. Ben grinned, glad that he was able to get her to loosen up a bit and laugh heartily for the first time that day; her laugh was enchanting, absolutely beautiful to listen despite how ugly she might believe it to be and her bright, dazzling smile made him smile as well while his heart began to beat faster. The last time he had felt like this was when he first met Ester, a Kraaho hybrid who could've been his alien, female counterpart and a beautiful relationship had he not beena fool and gotten cold feet.

Lilith finally stopped laughing and settled for a delight, dazzling style that Ben found he couldn't stop starring at. "Shall we?" she gestured, holding her arm in a joking manner.

"Lets." Ben grinned, taking her arm in his and walking her down the front steps of Monster High and across the courtyard, ignoring the few stares they were getting as they strolled to the front gate; a crimson blush crossed their faces when they caught sight of Spectra attempting to hide behind a bush snap a picture at them and when Cupid fell over backwards into the swamp water fountain at the courtyard's center, squealing with joy despite the fact she was now soaked to the bones. The couple ignored any and all look sent their way as the wrought iron gates yawned open before them, sending only a mild shiver of anxiety up Lilith's spine as they walked through and the gates closed behind them with a loud shriek of rusty metal. They were about to turn down the sidewalk and head off in the direction that Ben had walked many times with Ghoulia, Deuce Gorgon, and Cleo De Nile during their lunch break, when a loud hissing noise drew his attention.

He paused and turned around slowly, trying to place where he had heard the sound before during his days at Monster High; it wasn't like that of the dragons that lurked beneath the school in the catacombs that wormed and honeycombed the bare rock below or like the chorus and cacophony of hisses that came from Deuce and Viperine's hair every time the slithering serpents were ever forced into a spot that had a distinct lack of warm temperatures. That only left the time Holt Hyde had been commissioned by Headless Headmistress Bloodgood to paint a mural of her beloved pet, Nightmare, upon one of the school's exterior walls, using a great deal of skill and spray paint that Catirine De Mew was all too happy to let Holt borrow from her studio.

Now that he turned around, Ben felt his blood boil when he caught sight of two boys and a girl wrapped in heavy sweatshirts with the hoods drawn up around their heads and faces, ragged jeans that sported various designs of skulls and death all tied up with rattling chains, and a myriad of piercings to decorate their bodies when the girl wasn't puffing out a long breath of smoke from the cigarette in her mouth while she and her accomplices blasted the school's wall with loud and bright colors from the spray cans that lay haphazardly at their feet; his temper increased even further when he caught sight of what they were creating, which was suffice to say not very nice or good if it involved sexual organs, crude words, and an all too incriminating image of the headmistress doing some rather inappropriate and insulting things.

" _HEY!_ " Ben shouted, his fists clenched. "What do you think you're doing!?"

At the sound of his voice, the trio of troublemakers tensed up and froze for a slight second to turn and look at Ben with startled expressions on their faces; that is until they found that it was merely just a lanky, human boy with an odd device around his wrist. "What's it to you?" one of the boys scoffed.

"Because I go to this school and I'm pretty sure that Bloodgood won't appreciate having those things said about her." Ben frowned, jamming an accusing finger towards the incriminating art piece.

The girl rolled her eyes. "So what? They're all monsters, _she's_ a monster for cryin' out loud." she grumbled sarcastically, taking a long draw of her cigar. "For all we know, she probably goes down on herself all the time."

Ben narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, tighter, his fingers digging into his skin; Lilith had seen that expression all too many times on her uncle's face when he came back from an unsuccessful day of monster hunting and would resort to certain methods of calming himself down, most of which resulted in him passing out on the couch and sleeping in until noon the next morning with absolutely horrible breath that smelled like alcoholics and made Lilith grateful that they did not share a bathroom. "Clean this up. _Now._ " he growled.

The other boy spoke up this time. "Or what? You gonna go cry to your headless mommy?" he taunted in a childish manner, earning snickers from his accomplices.

Ben didn't answer and tapped the Omnitrix upon his wrist, cycling through the roster and bypassing aliens such as Toepick or Way Big that would get him in more trouble than the graffiti artists, and finally selected a suitable transformation before slamming a hand down on the activation button and encompassing himself in a blast of green light. His skeleton cracked and splintered loudly as it softened and became the equivalent of hello inside of him while his muscles went lax and his skin paled a bright white in color was quickly arched and decorated with large blotches and spots that etched themselves to create white lightning patterns on his body. Webbing began to form between his arms and legs while his skin stretched over his frame like a wet, paper bag that quickly divided itself into three, bell-like segments that draped over Ben's now boneless body as a pair of long, slimy tentacles slithered out of his back and forced his original pair of arms to edge downwards slightly. His eyes became black and beady as his head smoothly transitioned into his neck while the Omnitrix appeared over the area that would have been his mouth, completing the transformation.

Lilith found herself giving a smug smile upon catching sight of the terrified looks on the hooligan's faces as the they starred with wide eyes; the girl's still smoking cigarette dropped from her slack jaw and a can of orange spray paint one of the boys was holding clattered to noisily to the ground.

"I-It's the alien k-kid!" one of the boys cried.

AmpFibian rolled his eyes. "I have a name you know."

" _Run for it!_ " one of the boys screamed in a cowardly manner; the girl rolled her eyes and grabbed both boys by the back of their hoods, easily holding them in place as they attempted to flee.

"Quit your sniveling, you morons! We're not about to let some scuzzy monster tell us what to do, are we?" she growled in a venomous tone that said if any of them disagreed with her, the Amperi was going to be the least of their problems. "Stand and fight or I'll be the one kicking your asses!"

Between the glowering Amperi and the only girl of the group who ironically had more of a certain, male, sexual organ than they did, the two guys didn't know what to do as AmpFibian whipped his tentacles forward and wrapped them around their ankles, yanking them off of their feet and into the air where he roughly slammed them into the sidewalk hard enough to knock the wind out of them but not so much that they would be greatly injured; the Amperi then fired off a jolt of electricity from his specialized muscles and briefly watched the spectacle of the two boys howling in agony as they were shocked before letting them go and pulsing his gelatinous body to go after the last of the three hooligans.

The girl glared poisonously at AmpFibian as she curled her hands into tightly clenched fists and firmly stood her ground, cracking her neck and knuckles with a single flex and promptly spitting at the ground; she was about ready to spout off some of the foul language swirling around in her head when she finally noticed Lilith standing behind the Amperi with a mixture of amusement and befuddlement on her face. "You . . . you're just gonna let this hideous thing hurt us!?" she hissed angrily, clenching her fists so tightly that they dug into her palms to the point where her spike-like nails were nearly drawing blood. "You're uncle would be ashamed, Van Hellscream!"

"And you're in for the _shock_ of your life!" AmpFibian quipped as he slammed all four of his tentacles down onto the sidewalk and gave off a massive discharge that lit up the girl like a Christmas tree and made her scream in agony with her nerves feeling as if they were on fire until it finally stopped and she slumped to the ground, unconscious. The Amperi levitated there for several minutes, never taking his eyes off of the unconscious forms of the three teenagers beneath his tentacles; Lilith had frozen up at the girl's words, her face a pale shade as the two of them stood there in silence.

After an age, AmpFibian finally spoke. "Lilith . . . what did you say your last name was again?"

The monster hunter gulped nervously, trying to sound confident as she pursed her lips. "F-Fangington?"

"You don't even remember, do you?" AmpFibian rounded on her, absolutely furious. "You've been lying to me, to us, to the whole school this entire time!"

Lilith flinched and found her pulse racing and sweat starting to pour from her brow under the Amperi's harsh glare. "I-I . . ."

AmpFibian didn't let her finish. "I thought that I would be able to show the world that monsters aren't so bad, that they aren't the horrifying creatures everyone makes them out to be. My hope was that I'd be able to change at least one person's mind . . ." the Amperi narrowed his eyes as electricity coursed over his body.

"B-Ben . . . please, let me-" Lilith tried to say.

AmpFibian instead cut her off by slamming two of his tentacles into the ground and raising the other two up into the air, creating a spectacular and terrifying display of lightning and energy that made Lilith's dirty blonde hair stand on end; she could feel the uncomfortable heat the Amperi gave off from the sheer amount of power he wielded, how easily he could shock her and restart her heart over a dozen times before finally delivering a powerful enough jolt to outright kill her. "Just go!" he growled angrily, snapping his tentacles dangerously close to her for emphasis. "Get out of here!"

Lilith attempted to try and say something, reaching out with a pleading hand and immediately jerking it back when a small sliver of the Amperi's power coursed through her, feeling quite similar to the time she and her uncle had 'persuaded' an Iara to leave the local swamp and she had been unfortunate enough to have gotten too close to the Brazilian river nymph's pet electric eels. With a slight whimper of the first inkling of fear since she had first arrived at Monster High, she took a cautious step backwards with eyes still locked firmly on AmpFibian and not daring to take them away as she took a few more steps before turning tail and running as fast as she could away from him.

AmpFibian watched her go, never moving for several seconds before dissipated the deadly amount of electricity coursing through his body and letting his tentacles droop to his side; the Omnitrix timed out in a blast of light and returned Ben to the world. With a sigh he trudged back towards the gate of Monster High, leaving the three bodies of the teens behind without a care as the wrought iron fence yawned open with what sounded like a mournful screech for him before closing with a saddened groan.

The universe just seemed to hate him.

He could swear, the universe absolutely just loved to screw him over for its own, sick, twisted amusement.

It seemed almost funny how quickly he had matured ever since he had been mysteriously dumped into this strange and paranormal world of monsters after getting sucked through a malfunctioning Null Void Projector, how he had quickly cast aside the persona of an immature, smoothy slurping teenager that had been granted incredible power that he often used for stupid reasons whenever he was bored and not saving the day; now he had taken up the roll of a responsible hero that stood vigilant and tall in the face of injustice and danger.

So why did he feel so heavy over this sudden betrayal over a girl he had only met this morning? It wasn't like he knew her very well, and he couldn't have grown that attached to her that quickly, could he? Now that Ben thought about her, he couldn't seem to get Lilith out of his head; even though he barely knew her, he already missed that rare smile she seemed to flash only to him and the way her laugh made him feel all jittery and tingly in his fingers and toes similar to the pins and needles he sometimes got after doing battle but oddly different in some capacity that he just couldn't grasp. The way her ocean blue eyes sparkled and danced like mist upon the water in the morning, her dirty blonde hair tied up in an oddly adorable bun at the back of her head, her alluring lips and curves that seemed to taunt and tease him while reeling him in like a fish on a hook at the same time . . .

"What is wrong with me?" he wondered to himself.

The sound of stirring water that was off more offbeat and random than the steady trickling of the swamp water fountain at the courtyard's center drew his attention and he gave a brief glance to see Cupid resurface from the depths with a lilypad draped over her cotton candy locks and a rather disheveled frog that didn't seem to happy about having its nap disturbed by a careless goddess. "Something wrong, Ben?" she asked sweetly, spitting out a mouthful of water.

"I guess," he sighed; the Daughter of Eros shook her head free of water and peeled the lilypad off of her head as she climbed out of the fountain and sat down on the edge, patting a seat beside her with a comforting hand; Ben hesitantly sat down next to her, feeling a strange mixture of emotions that he didn't quite understand.

"Where's your friend?" Cupid wondered.

Ben sighed a second time. "She's gone." was all he allowed. "She wasn't who I thought she was . . ."

"Van Hellscream's niece, right?" Cupid guessed.

"How did . . ?"

"Kind of hard to ignore the sound of someone getting electrocuted less than a dragon's length away, Ben." Cupid replied with a small smirk on her lips. "So what's got you more twisted than a Kraken's tentacles?"

Ben shifted uncomfortably on the ledge of the fountain. "It's Lilith . . . I-I don't know what's wrong with me," he mumbled tiredly. "I thought that I could trust her, thought that I could open her eyes and see what she's been kept in the dark about. Then she turns out to be some double agent for the most notorious monster hunter in all of New Salem and . . . I can't stop thinking about her."

Cupid hummed and nodded sagely, leaning into Ben's side with her skeletal wing wrapping comfortingly around his shoulder. "I hate to break it to you Ben, but I think you're in love."

"You can't be serious." Ben looked at her in disbelief.

Cupid rolled his eyes. "Ben, I'm the Goddess of Love. Believe me, I know a thing or two about the subject." she gave him a look that said if he tried to argue against her that there would be over three dozen different thing she would be able to use against him. "Tell me, what happens whenever you think about Lilith?"

Ben rubbed his chin in thought. "Well . . . she's absolutely beautiful in words I can't describe and she's just so . . . _independent_ of those around her once she knows what she's doing; and even then, she take to just about anything like a fish to water! She's gorgeous in ways I can't even begin to understand, she's smart and a quick learner, and her laugh just drives me wild . . ."

"Considering your jokes and quips, you just lucked out," Cupid smirked. "But by my judgment, you've got it bad for her."

Ben was confused. "How is that possible? I just met her!"

The young deity shrugged. "Love works in mysterious ways, Ben. I should know."

"So what am I supposed to do!?" Ben exclaimed with irritation, throwing his hands up in the air with exasperation. "She's a monster hunter and I'm practically a monster!"

"That hasn't stopped love from coming through in the past." Cupid argued. "One of my dad's greatest accomplishments was Romeo and Juliet . . . granted, it didn't go too well for them in the end-"

Ben sighed. "Is there a point to this?"

"Live knows no bounds, Ben." Cupid summed up. "At the very least, you should try and talk to her, see if she feels the same way, too."

Ben sucked in a final breath and got up from the fountain, flexing his fingers in a nervous manner as he did so. "A-Alright," he said in a shaky tone that sounded more like he was trying to comfort himself than agree with Cupid's plan. "I'll do it. I'm gonna go talk to her."

* * *

The infamous mansion and lair of Van Hellscream was all but impossible to ignore when it was the very subject of all the hushed whispers and rasps of conversations in the dark corners of Monster High, as if speaking its very name would activate a curse or bring upon worse luck than the kind that plagued the school on Frightday the 13th; the mansion itself was far more impressive and ominous than the rumors and hushed secrets that whispered through the air on the wind. It was the kind of mansion with tall towers that seemed to cruelly stab into the sensitive underbelly of the night sky and dark, rusted, iron fences that surrounded the property that made monsters of any species of any age walk across the street and proceed along their way almost a block down if they ever had to cross the mansion's harsh outlook upon the world. A pair of stone lions guarded the entrance, two stone vampiress heads between their jaws as the unfortunate carvings screamed in silent horror with their bodies pinned beneath the lion's paws; the property was deathly quiet, save for the creaking of the bare branches of the trees and the lone cawing of a mournful crow from somewhere in the fog that covered the grounds.

Blitzwolfer shifted uncomfortably just outside of the wrought iron gate, his claws clicking against the sidewalk. "Yeesh. Talk about grim and grimmer." he mumbled under his breath; unfortunately, his sensitive nose had tracked Lilith's scent, an odd combination of cold steel and a rare flower known as the lotus trap that gave off a wonderful scent had harbored several sets of needle-like fangs if one got to close, to this very location. The Loboan felt his ears instinctively pin back against his head as he wisely decided to scale a section of the iron wrought fence instead of opening the gate, lest the rusting metal give off a horrendous shriek and alert Van Hellscream of his presence.

Once he was over the fence, Blitzwolfer silently stalked across the yard with belly low to the ground and claws slowly, passively edging across the gray and yellow, dying grass; it was as if every last little thing about the Van Hellscream mansion was meant to ward off curious outsiders and make anything or anyone that wasn't human feel a chill go down their spine, and the bare, black trees whose branches scratched and clawed at the sky relentlessly were no exception. The Loboan quickly hurried across the ground and up to the front door, tapping it cautiously with a claw and finding that it was unlocked and glaring back at him with a brass door knocker carved into the shape of a foreboding skull that only put him off slightly before he pushed the door open with a low, quiet moan from the hinges, his eyes instantly adapting to the darkness.

The interior was more horrific than he could have ever imagined.

The Loboan had heard of hunting lodges where the walls were decorated with the mounted horns, antlers, skulls, and bodies of various animals and game, a sight that would have made Jane Boolittle faint on the spot, with the animals stuffed and mounted in regal and majestic looking possesses that suggested they didn't suffer a painful death; the walls of Van Hellscream's mansion however, said otherwise.

Instead of deer, antelope, and stuffed game birds decorating the walls, there were the horrific remains of various monsters twisted into ferocious and frightening positions when they weren't silently howling in agony; the main door opened up into a grand living room with expensive, leather couches surrounding a coffee table made of the rare wood of a dryad's tree held up in place by the petrified remains of several gremlins with their scrawny arms locked into place to suspend the table above the floor while the stuffed remains of an entire minotaur stood tall and angry next to the fireplace upon which several jars and urns full of phoenix ashes, slime creature goo, the mummified remains of an unborn dragon, and a bottle of cyclops eyeballs stood lifeless beneath a mounted cockatrice with the deadly eyes removed for safety.

Blitzwolfer felt like he was going to be sick as he quietly closed the door behind him and felt his legs move upon their own accord away from the living room and the wall of trophies that hung above the grand staircase that led off from it and down a hallway where he found a far more grizzly fate awaiting him. More mounted heads decorated the walls, everything from unicorns and zombies to fairies and werewolves all hung between paintings and photographs that, upon closer inspection, revealing sick and twisted depictions of Van Hellscream standing over his latest catches; one such photo depicted the monster hunter standing proudly over the rotting carcass of a kraken and a family of sea monsters with dry skin and slit throats while another showed him courageously holding a trio of screaming vampiress by the taunt nooses around their necks and the multiple stakes jammed into their bleeding hearts for good measure as a third painting beheld an image of Van Hellscream riding a centaur bareback while he ruthlessly shot at the rest of the herd with Hydra blood-tipped arrows, every single last one of the equestrian monsters screaming in agony and fear as they attempted to gallop and run away as fast as possible.

If this was what Van Hellscream did on a regular basis, the Loboan could only hope that whatever scheme or plan he may have been using Lilith for had failed miserably and sparred Monster High from total annihilation; this also made him wonder if Lilith was beyond help if she was raised in a house like this where the dead bodies of innocent monsters had been slaughtered and mounted like some sort of demented museum and could be compared to that of a decorative vase one might set on a side table to compliment the room instead of a glass box contain a decapitated gorgon head with the eyeballs removed. Having grown up surrounded by this macabre collection, would Lilith even be able to function around monsters if she somehow miraculously returned his new found feelings for her?

The Omnitrix timed out in a blast of green light and returned Ben to the world, his first few breaths almost suffocating him from the putrid scent of rot and death from the various trophies that covered the house; it was only now that he truly grasped what was all around him and just how disgusted he was with his own species, how they could heartlessly hunt these magnificent creatures that thought and felt and loved just like them as if they were nothing more than mindless, instinct driven animals whose only existence was to be hunted. And that a man like Van Hellscream could get away with such slaughter, such murder . . . it boggled his mind. Khyber the Huntsman had been incarcerated numerous times for hunting the various races of multiple planets like regular game (and escaped every time), yet this murderous man seemed to be quite capable of getting his way in whatever he wanted.

A soft, barely audible sound that would have escaped most people's ears had they not been in Ben's ine of work for as long as he had came from off down the gruesome hall of severed heads, drawing Ben forward like a moth to the flame. He stealthily crept down the hall, wincing at the slightest creak of the warped floorboards beneath his cautious feet, his ears straining to pick up the sound he had heard before; upon closer inspection, it was more along the lines of two sounds intertwining with one another, one playing off of the other as one gave off a steady beat for the second to play an odd and complicated melody that seemed to lack any rhyme or reason for its sporadic tune.

Ben finally reached the end of the hallway and came to an imposing, wooden door that stood slightly ajar with a warm glow from the other side that Ben crept up to dare a peak inside; the interior was quite classy and elegant, clearly a study of some kind with bookshelves that reached the ceiling lining one wall, its shelves stacked with varying books of different monster species with basilisk skulls acting as book keepers. A roaring fire sat in the middle of the wall adjacent to the bookshelf, casting a bright glow in the dim study with a large comfy arm chair situated right in front of it and before the mantle upon which were stuffed gargoyles and imps with a grand picture of Van Hellscream fighting off a fearsome giant with nothing more than an ax hanging above the fireplace.

What caught his attention the most however was the large and imposing figure that stood with his back towards the door, sporting a pair of impressive shoulders inside of an expensive suit coat and dress shirt decorated with an exotic ascot all resting under a head of long, fluid, blonde hair; when the man turned, Ben instantly thought of him as playing the role of the hero in the battle, the glorious warrior that was able to beat the odds without difficulty and beat even the mightiest of foes with his shining smile, great strength, dazzling blue eyes, and impressive beard. That is, before he realized who he was exactly and what he was doing with the belt clutched tightly in his trembling, shaking hands.

Ben felt his blood boil and his jaw clench tightly when he caught sight of the frail figure lying quivering against the floor, attempting to support herself beneath her uncle's feet and fury; Lilith was lying crumpled on the floor, her arms heavily battered and bruised with swelling welts colored a nasty shade of purple and red and several cuts and traumas around her face with one of her eyes swollen and blackened and her lips split and bleeding, undoubtedly from the severe beating she had just received if the way she winced when she rolled over onto her back was anything to go by.

"I had such hopes for you, Lilith," Van Hellscream frowned with a disappointed tone. "I had hoped you would follow in my footsteps and continue my legacy of protecting humanity from the threat of the monsters that threaten to eradicate us."

Lilith coughed, her entire body wracked with pain from the severe strikes of her uncle's belt as she attempted to speak, her voice coming out as little more than feeble groans and gasps as she winced at the raw marks around her neck and chest where the belt buckle had struck particularly hard and the leather had restricted her breathing and movement; Ben was absolutely disgusted by this, at how this man that the humans looked up to like an idol could be so cruel and harsh to someone of his own blood.

The monster hunter continued. "My grand scheme, my meticulous planning for the boy . . . and you fail absolutely _miserably._ " he growled irritably. "And the lies!"

"It takes one . . . to know one, uncle." Lilith hacked from the floor, hissing with pain as Van Hellscream lashed his belt across her stomach, no doubt leaving a nasty mark; it took all of Ben's willpower not to charge right in there.

Van Hellscream continued to monologue, his voice growing increasingly more enraged. "Do you _honestly_ expect me to believe that a human boy would prefer the company of those savage, wretched creatures over that of his species!?" he spat angrily, raising his arm up to lash out the belt once more.

That was all Ben could take as he rushed into the room, banging the door open as he tapped the Omnitrix and selected Rath before slamming blindly down on the activation button as he rammed his full weight into Van Hellscream, encompassing himself in a flash of green light that warped and shifted his genetic code into something new. His skeleton cracked and crunched loudly as it realigned and shifted itself into a more flexible position that allowed his bones to hollow out and reinforce themselves with numerous, small rods that made them stiff and more durable as muscles weaved and threaded themselves underneath of his skin as his spine arched and cracked and forced a long tail to whip out from the base of his spine that already snapped back and forth with anticipation as fresh tissue and skin enveloped it before long, fine, black hair began to sprout and form a fluffy tail; the soft fur traveled up Ben's back from there, enveloping him in relative warmth as the black fur crossed over his shoulders and down his chest, covering his arms and racing down his stomach and to his legs and feet, engulfing his hands as his ears sharpened and became pointed and rotated to the top of his head. His eyes flashed a bright green in color as they widened apart slightly and as his skull cracked and pushed forward, his jaws lengthening and molding into a canine-like muscle that quickly filled with sharp fangs that pushed up and through Ben's gums while his legs bent back into a new joint; his toes and fingers shortened and grew slightly bigger, forming paws and vague hands of sorts tipped with claws. The final piece of the transformation was the addition of a black and green body suit with green braces and a belt around his waist that harbored the Omnitrix.

"So . . . the rumors are true . . ." Van Hellscream breathed with amazement from the floor as the vaguely fox-like alien stood between him and his niece.

The Kitsunian snarled, exposing several sets of razor-sharp fangs as a wet splitting noise caught the monster hunter's attention when the alien's muzzle began to split and peel back like a banana being stripped of its rubbery peel into four, flexible flaps lined with tea, a rather horrific scene for those that were not prepared or had never met a Kitsunian. " _Get away from her._ " he snarled.

"B-Ben . . ?" Lilith blinked blearily from the floor.

The Kitsunian briefly dropped its guard to turn around and regard Lilith with a look of comfort and sympathy on its canine-like face while the four flaps folded back into place and he curled the tip of his fluffy tail underneath of her chin in a reassuring manner. "Yes, it is me. Although, I do not recognize my current form. I assume I have been granted with a new transformation . . . one that I intend to put to good use." he growled, turning to glare back at Van Hellscream. "You disgust me."

Van Hellscream made an attempt to climb to his feet, pausing when a low growl escaped from the Kitsunian's drawn back lips; the sound retreated when the monster hunter slowly sat himself back down on the floor and delivered a hate filled glare at his alien adversary. "The feeling is mutual, monster scum."

The Kitsunian barked angrily and cracked his tail forward, firing off three quills from within his the depths of his furry tail, a move that surprised both parties as the quills embedded themselves shallowly in the marble fireplace. "You have the gall to call _me_ a monster? Have you not looked in the mirror recently? I believe you would be surprised at what you would see if you feel no guilt or remorse for abusing your beloved niece in failing her sinister mission to attempt to try and recruit me over to your side . . . a pitiful plan in the first place, if you wish for my opinion."

Van Hellscream allowed a grin slowly creep across his face and a low chuckle escape his lips as he carefully climbed to his feet, standing about a foot or so over the Kitsunian and still laughing much to his annoyance and confusion. "You fool," he shook his head as if he were talking to a young child. "You've fallen right into their trap. That's _exactly_ what the monsters want you to do, _exactly_ what they want you to think. They _want_ you to believe that they're absolutely harmless, that they don't pose any sort of threat to us, that they want to live side by side in coexistence together."

"I have no reason to not believe them." the Kitsunian snarled.

Van Hellscream frowned. "They've poisoned your mind, boy. You wield such awesome, raw power on your wrist, and yet you waste your talents on vile creatures that don't even deserve to lick the scum off the bottom of your own boots! If it wasn't for the constant, pathetic squabbling the monsters have with each other, we would be reduced back to our primitive states, forced to always move and run and hide away for fear of being attacked and eaten by the monsters that plague our world!" he shouted defiantly as he clenched his fists tightly for emphasis while voice boomed around the study. "Join me boy, use your power for the right side of this war, and you will be forever idolized as a hero!"

The Kitsunian responded by dropping down to all fours with claws extended, teeth bared, and tail raised up in a defensive position, a sight that made Van Hellscream tense up slightly; this gave the canine-like alien the chance he needed to spring forward and slam into Van Hellscream's chest, using his shoulders as a springboard to push off and grab him by the back of his suit as the monster hunter fell and swing him up into the air and over the Kitsunian's shoulder to then roughly slam him down onto the floor with a tremendous _bang!_ and land skillfully on his chest.

"I believe Foxflare would be an appropriate title for this transformation." the Kitsunian noted.

Van Hellscream growled and sat up, punching the Kitsunian in his jointed leg and knocking him off of him and allowing him to climb to his feet and grab a mounted sword off of the wall with an angered expression upon his face. "If you will not join me, then you will die like the rest of your disgusting, monster brethren!" he spat.

"As the saying goes, 'famous last words'." Foxflare narrowed his eyes as he assumed a fighting position; with battle cries from both sides, the two of them charged at one another as Van Hellscream swung his sword in a downward arc and the Kitsunian just barely blocked the shot with the metal braces along his wrists, deflecting the blow as he lashed a leg out and destroyed his adversary's knee. Van Hellscream cried out as he fell to a kneeling position and was promptly gifted with a roundhouse kick to the gut and chest that sent him flying back and crashing into one of the large bookcases that lined the walls of his study, dropping a fair amount of books down on him.

Desperate and without a weapon, Van Hellscream scooped up an armload of manuscripts and tomes and chucked them like throwing stars at Foxflare, each one thrown with quick timing and precision and seemingly leaving the Kitsunian without a way to dodge them all even with his incredible agility. It came as quite a surprise then when Foxflare blocked the first, thick book with a clenched fist and deflected the next two with a flick of his tail before he was suddenly engulfed in a quick flash of green light and disappeared from existence, only to reappear directly in front of Van Hellscream and deliver several quick thrusts and jabs to his chest and collarbone.

Van Hellscream seized up and promptly slumped to the floor, letting the remaining books he possessed clatter over him as he groaned and looked up at Foxflare with disdain. "H-How . . ?"

"Minotaur Death Grip." the Kitsunian said curtly with a nod of his head. "I learned it from someone I hold dear." he added as he grabbed Van Hellscream by the front of his shirt and lifted him off of the ground while he drew back a fist; a threatening amount of green energy crackled and snapped between his stubby, paw-like fingers and formed a chaotic sphere in his palm just waiting to be thrown.

Instead of cowering however, Van Hellscream began to _laugh,_ a slow chuckle at first that began to blossom and bloom into full out cackling that boomed and resonated off the walls of his study that earned him a cold and calculating look from Foxflare. "Go ahead, boy. Kill me. Beat me up. Prove to the world that you are what you are, a disgusting monster that preys upon humanity without mercy for his own sustenance and pleasure." he spat with a wicked grin.

Foxflare mentally admitted to himself that he would love nothing more than to found this creep's face into mashed potatoes for all he had ever done to the monster population of the world, what he had done to him, what he had done to Lilith. But that would be giving the sick and twisted man exactly what he wanted, proof that he was right that monsters savage creatures that deserved to be destroyed and hunted and incarcerated for their brutality; with that being said, the energy slowly dissipated from Foxflare's claws as he lowered Van Hellscream back down to the floor with a cold look. "No," he growled. "I will not. I will not nor _ever_ be something like you . . . a cold, heartless demon trapped within the confines of a man that stubbornly refuses to give up on the false truths and lies he has intricately woven for his followers to believe and listen to and, in turn, believe those lies himself. You call yourself innocent, a human with morals, but you are in fact none of those things: you are the true monster."

Van Hellscream scoffed. "You think-"

Foxflare cut him off with a quick opening and snap of his four-flapped jaws just an inch away from Van Hellscream's face. "If assaulting your own niece with abuse for refusing to follow your horrible schemes does not convince or prove that you are not who you say you are, than I don't know what will." he snarled as he shifted his arm and threw Van Hellscream high up into the air much to his surprise and horror as the Kitsunian whipped his tail forth and fired off a multitude of spikes and quills that flew right at Van Hellscream and pinned him securely to the ceiling of his study through his jacket, shirt, and pants, effectively rooting him to the spot no matter how much he fought and struggled.

"I do hope you will be able to hang around for a little bit," Foxflare allowed a smirk to cross his face. "Because I have a feeling you are going to be there for a long time."

With that being said, Foxflare turned around his heel with a flick of his tail and with purposeful steps walked over and crouched next to Lilith's fallen form on the floor, setting a hand on her shoulder as she attempted to smile at him. "Impressive . . ." she managed to say, hissing with pain when the Kitsunian slid his hands underneath of her back and legs to lift her off of the floor in bridal style.

"You do not suffer from internal injuries?" Foxflare inquired.

Lilith took a few seconds to collect her breathing and try and ignore the fact that one of the Kitsunian's fingers was pressed against a rather nasty bruise. "I-I . . . I don't think so. Everything is just sore . . . what I wouldn't g-give for some ice right now . . ."

"I believe I know a place," Foxflare nodded. "You are tired and clearly without energy. I suggest you rest until we arrive." he advised wisely; Lilith nodded and let her eyes blink shut as she slowed down her breathing and curled into the Kitsunian's chest and soft fur like a blanket, her exhausted body falling into a light slumber within minutes as Foxflare began to make his way towards the door.

"Just who do you think you are!?" Van Hellscream growled angrily from the ceiling.

With a quick, feral snarl, Foxflare whirled around and bared his teeth once more, raising his tail as several quills and spikes poked out from the nest of comfortable fur in a threatening manner. "The name is Ben. Ben Tennyson." he growled before turning on his feeling and stalking out of the study, making a mental note to call the New Salem police and hope that they would be competent at their job for once. " _And don't you forget it._ "

* * *

Lilith felt absolutely wretched. Everything hurt and throbbed and was all around just plain sore, from her arms and shoulders to her stomach and back, and her face felt like she just wanted to cut it off with a knife to try and relieve herself of the pain that racked her body; she suddenly felt something strikingly cold and wet touch itself to her skin, making her instinctively tense up at the feeling until she realized that the pain was starting to ebb away. Lilith inhaled a deep, relaxed breath and stirred in her slumber, her eyes slowly blinking open and bringing her a bleary image of her surroundings; she seemed to be in a living room of some kind lying down on a quite comfortable, black couch wrapped up in a warm blanket in front of a coffee table, several other comfy chairs, and a considerably-sized TV upon which framed photos sat.

What caught her attention the most however, was the disembodied head sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

With a sharp yelp, Lilith jumped and back against the couch, instantly regretting the decision as a splitting pain cut through her head and something freezing fell onto her leg, drawing out a second hiss of surprise and pain as it fell onto one of her bruises whose sensitivity began to ebb away. "Are you alright, dear?" the head asked her; it clearly belonged to a woman of shorts with short, luscious, black hair with fair skin, silvery eyes, and full, pink lips curved into a concerned frown.

"F-Fine." Lilith swallowed dryly, her pulse nearly skipping a beat when a headless body came strolling in from what was most likely the kitchen with a tray of hot teas, coffees, and chocolates that smelled absolutely divine; the body was also clearly feminine and was most likely the owner of the disembodied head before her, dressed in a purple frock coat, a white frilled shirt and red cravat, black trousers, and black riding boots that only added to the body's height as it set the tray down on the coffee table and promptly picked up its head to screw securely back into place as if she did this thing on a regular basis.

A suspicious hum drew her attention and she turned around to see another ghoul standing behind the couch with a calculating look upon her pale, blue features with her aurora borealis eyes that Lilith recognized from the halls of Monster High; her arms were leaned packed with muscles and tissue that could have easily destroyed Lilith's own arms in an arm wrestling contest and wore a strapless, fur lined dress that sparkled and shimmered like glacial ice that cut off at her hips where a pair of pale blue and pink leggings started and ended at a pair of knee-high, fur covered boots that matched her snow white and blue and pink stained hair. "Little girl is lying. Clearly still hurting." she noted.

"I am not a little girl!" Lilith snapped, hissing at the bruises along her back and shoulders.

The ghoul, clearly a yeti if the way the temperature plummeted significantly was anything to go by, scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Little girl is little to Abbey."

The woman, which Lilith quickly recognized to be Headless Headmistress Bloodgood coughed slightly. "Yes, well, Abbey, I believe our guest could use some more ice? I imagine she is still quite sore." she said; Lilith attempted to argue that she was feeling fine until she caught sight of the look upon the woman's face and every last bruise and welt across her body seemed to scream all out as once and force her back down to lie on the couch on her side, the one part where her uncle's belt hadn't reached her. Abbey nodded and took what Lilith found to be an ice pack lying on the couch, the odd necklace and charm around her neck glowing brightly as cyromagic coursed through her arms and hands and fingers and into the bag of ice, freezing solid once more as she set it down on Lilith's head where a nasty cut crossed her forehead.

"Where am I?" Lilith wondered, resisting the urge to move as much as possible.

Bloodgood smiled warmly for the first time since the monster hunter had awoken. "My lovely abode, Ms. Van Hellscream."

Lilith froze and nearly felt her heart skip a beat. "Y-You . . . you know who I am?"

"Ben told us everything. My apologies for your uncle's treatment of you." Headmistress Bloodgood smiled apologetically.

"Abbey will crush his jewels of family like eggs." the yeti threatened, clenching her fist tightly and cracking all of her fingers and knuckles with a single movement; Lilith felt uneasy yet oddly did not feel much remorse for what Abbey had threatened of her uncle. "Right after Abbey crush your skull like egg.

Now Lilith felt _incredibly_ uneasy.

"Abbey, calm down. There will be an appropriate punishment for Ms. Van Hellscream later. Right now, she requires a lot of rest and doesn't need you threatening her life at the moment." Headmistress Bloodgood scolded the yeti. "I believe you have homework to do?"

Abbey sighed and relented, making her way towards a set of stairs that led upwards into the bedrooms and more private areas of the house after grabbing a mug of hot chocolate and promptly freezing it to a near subzero temperature with a flick of her finger. "Send Ben up when done wasting precious breath. Abbey's room not nippy enough." she added before disappearing to the second floor, leaving Bloodgood and Lilith all alone in the living room.

"You have to excuse Abbey, she's a foreign exchange student." Bloodgood explained with a smile. "The traditions of yetis are a comparatively primitive, yet considerably charming one. Especially when they are celebrating."

Lilith nodded. "My uncle . . . he studied many aspects of monster culture."

"For nefarious purposes, I'm afraid." Bloodgood sighed, taking a seat on the couch beside Lilith and grabbing hold of her hand; the monster hunter half expected the fingers to feel cold and clammy, but found that they were both warm and oddly comforting, like the way her mother often touched her before she and her father had disappeared under circumstances Lilith didn't quite understand. "I hope this little experience has opened your eyes to what we truly are, Lilith."

"Y-Yes." Lilith took a shaky breath, curling her fingers tightly around Bloodgood's hand out of anger. "I can't believe I've been so blind!"

Headmistress Bloodgood smiled warmly. "Don't blame yourself. To be far, most humans are a rather stubborn species; us monsters fair no better." she offered with reassurance. "Ben however, would seem to be the one exception out of both parties."

Lilith nodded, feeling an odd, warm feeling starting to well up inside of her chest upon hearing Ben's name; why was she feeling like this? Why did her heart began to beat faster, her mind start racing, and her face begin to feel all hot and uncomfortable whenever he was around or even at the mere mention of him? And . . . where was he even?

" . . . no, you listen to me, you air-wasting sack of meat! I'm telling you, Van Hellscream beat his own niece! No, I am not lying! Now listen here you- what number is this? Like I'd tell you! You're gonna trace this call and arrest me for harassment? Hah! Good luck! Just because of that, you can expect an eighty percent increase in your cellphone bills! How do you like me- oh, yeah? Well same to you, too! And your mother was a three-legged toadstool!" a familiar voice shouted angrily from the kitchen with a mechanized tone to it.

Lilith raised an eyebrow and tensed up slightly when a large, humanoid creature came trudging out of the kitchen, ducking under the doorway and regarding the two of them with a single, cyclopean eye on its small head that gradually and fluid tapered into its broad shoulders that were attached to semi-muscular arms upon which large, oversized hands and fingers sat; the torso was vaguely muscular, fluidly molding into the abdomen and molding into a pair of legs that lacked any toes upon the end. The creature was covered in a black and green circuitry design that decorated its whole body with an every familiar disk sitting squarely inside of the green ring that functioned as the creature's eye.

"How's she doing?" Upgrade asked, lumbering over to the couch and studying Lilith with concern.

"She woke up just a few minutes ago." Bloodgood told the Galvanic Mechamorph. "She seems to be fine, but her injuries still hurt. Ben, if you go into the downstairs bathroom, there should be a first-aid kit under the sink."

Upgrade held up a small case with a red cross plastered on the side. "Already got it covered." he said as the Omnitrix timed out in a blast of green light and returned Ben to the world with a grim expression on his face as he set the kit down on the coffee table and cracked it open, immediately grabbing a roll of gauze and setting to work on bandaging the bruises along Lilith's right arm as she held the ice pack Abbey had given to her up to her blackened eye. "You took quite a beating back there . . ."

"And he barely left a scratch on you." Lilith allowed a small smile to grace her lips, fighting back a small blush that had cross her cheeks; Bloodgood raised an eyebrow, easily noticing the red tinge to her face, and quietly slipped away to give the two of them privacy for the time being; Abbey often struggled with her Dragonomics class if she remembered correctly, the perfect distraction to leave the two of them alone.

"I guess I'm just that good." Ben joked. "But you're sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Ben." Lilith rolled her eyes with a sigh. "I won't lie, everything hurts like you wouldn't believe, but I'm otherwise fine."

"That's good." Ben remarked lamely as he finished bandaging her arm and cut the strip of gauze off to set to work on her left arm, rolling up the sleeve of her shirt as he set to work; the two sat there in comfortable, awkward silence that made Lilith feel uneasy. She bit her lip, trying to organize the chaotic thoughts buzzing around in her head like a flock of snapper dragons (notoriously known for being able to skeletonize a cow in under a minute). The way he was gently touching her arm was driving her wild, wondering just how someone who spent his free time making knuckle sandwiches could be just as tentative in his touches, how someone who was more than capable of leveling a building in collateral damage on a daily basis could be so careful in how they moved.

Ben's thoughts however, were far less organized than Lilith's as he focused on attending to her injuries while his mind raced along faster than he could barely grasp and pluck at the thoughts inside of his head; should he be subtle in telling her how she felt? Should he just say right out? How would she react? Would she even feel the same way as he did? And what could this possibly mean for them in the future? Would Lilith go back to her old school? Would she remain at Monster High? Would things even work out for them at all? Such thoughts were among many that swarmed and buzzed around in his head like a hive of angry hornets, driving him crazing when he tried pick just one, anyone of them out of his thoughts right now without hopefully making himself look like a fool.

Eventually though, the silence was broken. "L-Lilith . . ?" Ben asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes?" the monster hunter responded, wincing slightly as Ben tied the gauze a tad tight around her arm.

Ben inhaled a slow, deep breath to calm himself before speaking. "There's . . . there's something I need to tell you."

Lilith felt her heart beat faster as she swallowed dryly and unconsciously scooted a little closer to Ben. "What is it?"

Ben took a second deep breath; it was now or never. "I . . . know we just got to know each other and everything this morning and we didn't exactly . . . part on the best of terms, but I just . . . I can't describe it . . . _gah!_ Why am I so bad with words!?" he cursed angrily, pulling his hair in frustration. " _ERGH!_ I can easily punch a bad guy in the face, stop an alien invasion, and save people from a burning building, but I can't even tell the girl I love how I feel!? _What is wrong with me!?_ "

Lilith snickered with amusement at Ben's antics before suddenly realizing what he had just said. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"What is wrong with me?" Ben tried.

"Further back." Lilith prompted.

"Why am I so bad with words?" Ben guessed.

"Too far back." Lilith directed him.

"Uh, I can't even tell the girl I love how I feel?" he surmised blankly before he fully realized what the words tumbling out of his mouth meant. "Oh, Sphinx . . ."

Lilith felt her face grow warm as he face turned red out of embarrassment, her leg instinctively bouncing up and down out of nervousness. "Y-You . . . you like me? You _really_ like me? E-Even after everything I did to you?"

Ben gulped nervously. "Of course, I do. I mean . . . I'll admit this is weird even by my standards for me to feel this way about someone so quickly, but . . . well, a friend told me once that love knows no bounds. And considering she's the Goddess of Love, I don't really have a reason to ignore her advice. But . . . lets be realistic here. You probably don't feel the same way . . ." he sighed, scratching the back of his head as he observed his work on Lilith's wounds. "Well, that's about all I can do for now. Try and get some rest and let those heal a bit."

With that, Ben awkwardly attempted to roll the gauze back up and close the first aid kit, accidentally wrapping his fingers together and tying them to his forearm and shoulder before wrapping them around his chest and somehow to his ankle and forehead as he attempted to get himself free from the situation he had managed to get himself in.

"Need some help?" Lilith offered.

"I dunno . . . I'm a little tied up at the moment." Ben grunted to get himself free while hopping up and down on one foot to keep his balance while in a rather odd and awkward position; despite his initial protests, Lilith reached forward and grabbed a bandage and attempted to try and untangle Ben from his situation, only to find that the gauze were rather sticky and stuck to her fingers no matter much she fought and struggled to get herself lose, soon entangling herself further into the mess as well.

"Well. This is a lovely situation we've gotten ourselves into." Ben remarked sarcastically. "Maybe next we can play with the fly paper!"

Lilith rolled her eyes. "Hang on, I think . . . if I can just reach . . ." she strained to grab a loose strip under Ben's arm that was just out of reach; clenching her teeth tightly out of determination, she inched closer and closer and closer until her fingers finally managed to grab the loose end of the bandage and give it a short tug that quickly unbalanced the two of them and sent them crashing to the floor, much to Lilith's discomfort and soon to be embarrassment when she realized she had landed on top of Ben in a rather suggestive position less than several inches away form his face and handsome features.

"Well . . . uh, this is rather . . . awkward . . ." Ben remarked. "If I can just hit the Omnitrix and get XLR8 . . ."

Lilith didn't respond, merely just lying there and relishing in how comfortable Ben felt against her aching muscles, like a soft mattress of sorts that was already making her sleepy right then and there. _Screw it,_ she thought. _Monster or not, I'm not letting this one go._ With that being said, she snapped her hands out and cupped Ben's face in her grip as she leaned forward and smashed her lips against his own, a wonderful feeling coursing through her body as she finally relaxed her tense, aching muscles and felt much more at ease. Without waiting for Ben to respond, she began to move her lips in a slow, steady rhythm and press her body against his own while slipping her hands behind his head and digging her fingers into his earth, brown hair; after what felt like forever, Ben had finally gotten over his initial shock and returned the kiss with equal passion, slithering his arms through the nest of bandages and around her and shoulders to hold her close to him as his eyes drooped shut from feeling such pleasure at this. A low moan escaped Lilith's lips as she rimmed Ben's own set, begging for entry that he was more than happy to grant as the two of them clashed and fought time and time again in their love making; they didn't want to stop, didn't want this moment where only the two of them ever seemed to matter to ever end, but the need for oxygen trumped anything else and eventually left them separated and gasping for breath.

"Wow . . ." was all Ben could say.

"Mmmm. The whole package," Lilith purred as she rested her head on his chest and nuzzled him lovingly. "Guess I might as well enjoy while I can . . ."

Ben hugged her tighter to him. "Enjoy it as much as you like. You're staying here with me, Bloodgood, and Abbey whether your uncle likes it or not. I am not about to let the girl I love get sent back to live with that monster; I'll use every last alien in my Omnitrix if I have to." he promised in a tone that made Lilith's run cold and greatly turned her on at just how ruthless he could be when needed; it was oddly charming and incredibly endearing, and Lilith couldn't help herself when she engulfed Ben's lips in hers once more out of sheer gratitude and lust (not that Ben was complaining).

Unbeknownst to either of them, Abbey and Bloodgood were watching from on high from over the railing of the second floor, essentially spying on the two new found loves from above. "Little girl is staying with us now, no?" Abbey raised an eyebrow.

"I don't see why not. It certainly would be a start in the right direction towards Monster High's true purpose." Headmistress Bloodgood nodded with approval. "And I believe it will further allow Ms. Van Hellscream to truly see why Ben chooses to stay with us."

Abbey frowned slightly. "Abbey disapproves of this. But . . . she is willing to 'give it a shot', as you say. As long as Little girl is not rooming with Abbey, we will not be having conflict."

Headmistress Bloodgood smirked. "That can be arranged. On a side note, you seem far more friendly to Frankie than usual . . . a tad closer as well. It was very nice of you to return her missing hand to her."

"We are the ghoul friends, nothing more!" Abbey quickly said with rosy cheeks that only proved Headless Headmistress Bloodgood's point further with a knowing smile. " _Nothing more!_ " Abbey shouted as she stomped back to her room out of embarrassment.

"Bloodgood: 2, students: 0." the headmistress smirked.

 **And there we have it!**

 **Sorry this took so long, everyone. Time flies when you're having fun!**

 _ **'Or when you're about to be killed by a Zamboni . . . in five minutes!'**_

 **You're still excited about finally receiving your own movie, aren't you?**

 _ **'Are chimi-*BEEP!*-changas delicious? And why are words being censored!?'**_

 **Do I even need to explain it? Either way, this is probably the darkest one-shot I have ever written out of this series . . . not sure if I want to go down that road again, so I'll leave it up to you wonderful guys and gals. On a side note, the alien that was featured in this chapter, Foxflare (who I for some reason see sharing the same voice as Black Beetle from _Young Justice_ ), was created by **_**mechazard01**_ **, who owns both a Deviantart and Fanfiction account under the same name. Really awesome alien, dude (or dudette)! This does not mean however, that I am looking for any more OC aliens; this just happened to be one that I liked enough to feature in one of my works.**

 **On a related note, apologies for the delay; believe me, I wanted to get this out to you all about a week ago or so, but after my computer's cord was fried and my battery went dead, all production ceased until Hades ordered me a new one. Which, when using Hermes as a delivery service, takes roughly several centuries to receive.**

 _ **And don't forget about Mr. Nibbles!**_

 **Oh, yeah. That thing drooled all over the keyboard to; should I be scared if that thing's saliva is acidic?**

 _ **'Not if you have a healing factor like me that makes Wolverine go like, "Dude, I so wish I had Deadpool's healing factor,"!'**_

 **And once again, I'm surrounded by loons. Well, as always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below! And don't forget to vote on the poll.**

 _ **'Get a life!'**_

 **Not helping, Wade!**


	21. You Will Remember

_**Marhabaan,**_ **everyone! I have returned once more (hopefully faster than last time) to fill your lfie with misery and woe!**

 _ **'No, Four-Eyes, that's**_ **our** ** _job.'_**

 _ **But that doesn't mean we don't love you!**_

 **Coming from you, babe, that means the world. Coming from Deadpool . . . mind if I borrow your hammer?  
**

 _ **Does a jabberwocky secretly tap dance?**_

 _ **'Does Deadpool quickly retreat to his closet!?'**_

 **Why didn't I try that sooner? Regardless, apologies from the Underworld about the absence from last chapter, but we're back up and ready to set fire to the world! Uh, no wait, that was Plan Q . . . what I meant to say was were back up and ready to roll out more chapters for you lovely readers! Onto your questions and answers that I bring them!**

 _ **Zachery Hance –**_ **Hmmm, a musical number with Catty Noir, eh? Should she be voted for the top spot, I don't see why not!**

 _ **Menatron the Angel of Ideas –**_ **I unfortunately have never watched/read (I don't know what it is)** ** _Supernatrual_ and I have no current plans to include that franchise with the other works I am currently writing and have plans to work on; it does however pose a rather interesting challenge. I mean, you'd think it might have been written by now. I was honestly surprised when I fatefully discovered there were no Ben 10/Monster High Xovers despite the fact that Ben had at least five monster themed aliens and several more that shared some sort of resemblance to the various students of Monster High and . . . well, the rest if history, as they say.**

 _ **mechazard01 –**_ **Considering you mentioned it, I believe so.**

 _ **Darkness Rissing –**_ **I know, right? It's a gift and a curse-**

 _ **The Bandersnatch bites and the Jub Jub Bird scratches while the pig proposes to the peacock.**_

 _ **'No idea what that means.'**_

 **Neither do I. Anyway, in order for there to be another Lilith Van Hellscream chapter, you and my other readers would have to vote for it; this would also apply to the other ghouls as well, but the idea you present is a rather ingenious one . . . plus, it just might help lead up to a certain plot point I've been meaning to implement.**

 _ **marshman101 –**_ **Van Hellbutt . . . I'll have to remember that XD Either way, considering how long it was since my last update, I felt a long chapter was more than deserving for you guys and gals. You are, after all, what keeps me coming back for more and not just disappear mysteriously under mysterious circumstances mysteriously.**

 _ **Unknown –**_ **Should more readers vote for another Lilith chapter, her Jersey Devil WAM form will be implemented; this was sort of a build up to that moment. As for your Deviantart request, no offense taken whatsoever. To be honest, I had a sketch of Frankie and her Petrosapien transformation, Tourma, in the works since WAM ended, but considering how crazy my unlife has gotten, especially since I now seem to be the official Nemetrix predator producer for a Ben 10 Reboot on Deviantart, it's left little time for art I want to draw and post. This of course hasn't stopped me from getting the OC villain sketches out and the occasional personal piece of art out, but it does make it significantly more difficult (wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world, though).**

 _ **anonymous –**_ **Ha, ha, ha, don't worry. The ol' OUAT will be back soon enough!**

 _ **maverickmoxey2000 –**_ **Yeah, back when I was human, if I had to chose between normies and monsters, I would have gone with monsters without a second thought; compared to our lives, theirs is** ** _so_ much more exciting. I mean, when do you ever have to share the pool with a Kraken or fend off your lunch with plastic utensils or get surprised by wandering spirits phasing throug your locker? It's _much_ more fun!**

 **Yeah, I see what you mean about bullies. I had a couple experiences like that back when I was human, and lets just say it didn't end well . . . for them, anyway.**

 **And no, I did mean Black Beetle. In the second season of _Young Justice_ (awesome show, BTW. I hear Netflix might be reviving the series for a third season, though there's no confirmation yet), we get introduced to Green Beetle, a Martian that received a Scarab and was able to stay sane through his shape-shifting capabilities and telepathic powers, and Black Beetle, an unknown species that has fully submitted to the wills of The Reach and his Scarab; for some reason, I imagine Foxflare having his same, chilling voice whenever he talks.**

 **You make some clever points, and I'd have to say that the Cat Sisters chapter was indeed predated by a similar event of Lilith's chapter, though a relationship obviously didn't form, which is one of the many uses that alternate dimensions come with.**

 **As for Van Hellscream's punishment when his time comes . . . maybe you should let Medusa take a good, long look at him just before he dies, that way he'll be caught somewhere between life and death without any means of escape to serve out your idea of a punishment . . . and suffer the wrath of the business ends of pigeons in the park as well XD**

 _ **Zanzar –**_ **I believe we've already established this in a PM, but here's a quick recap: vote Lilith next time to find out, right now, and no.**

 _ **'We clear, Skippy?'**_

 _ **Wade!**_

 **Now, every time I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them. And in the event of a tie, I flip a coin for which ghoul I write about.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Twyla!**

 **Embrace the darkness . . . help is not coming . . . the light is fading . . . their twilight approaches . . . drip, drop, the sound of blood . . . afraid of the dark? Do I scare you, dear reader? Are you my nightmare, or am I yours? Are you getting tired yet? _Darkness . . ._**

 **And that my friends, was the rambling of a mad Tetramand. Join us next week when we- _cut them from this world!_**

 **Okay, is it just me or is the fact that Twyla is a boogeyman starting to get to me?**

 _ **'It's just you, Four-Eyes.'**_

 **Rhetorical question, Wade. On a side note, the always lovely _Blazorna Ibara_ and I have been working ona Xover between his story _The Troubles of a Misplaced Hero_ and my story _We Are Monsters_ , picking up right where the later of the two ended. I know I've been advertising the stupid thing for months, even a year on end, but we just haven't had the time to write out together until recently (and by that, I mean the last few months), and now we've finally got the first half done and ready to post within a few days! So keep your eyes peeled and your fingers twitching and ready scroll, my dear readers! The Xover of Legend is finally coming!**

 _ **'Way to sugar-coat it.'**_

 _ **I love sugar!**_

 **Ignoring! As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below your ideas for possible scenarios for future ghouls and Ben! We love to hear from you guys!**

 _ **The blind collie loves its nose and the limping bird its wings!**_

 **What she said.**

 _ **'Onwards!'**_

 **I hate you, Deadpool!**

 _ **'I know you mean love!'**_

* * *

Cupid shuffled down the hall, her stomach still tied up in hungry knots from lunch while she hugged herself awkwardly as she tried to figure out the inner turmoil of emotions she suffered from, oblivious to the overall good mood that everyone else that held the privilege of attending Ever After High seemed to be in. This was partially due to the wonderful weather that they had been granted and that the latest round of semester tests and quizzes and late night study sessions were finally at an end with the promise of a school dance with a very large budget being planned by none other than Briar Beauty the Party Queen herself right around the corner.

The young goddess barely even noticed how some of the students were already asking others out to the dance; Sparrow Hood came wailing from down the hallway on his electric guitar, diving down to the floor in a power slide to come to a stop by Poppy O'Hair's locker and present the Daughter of Rapunzel with a bouquet of flowers and an invitation to go to the dance with him, much to Poppy's embarrassment and Duchess' intense annoyance; Hunter Huntsman attempted to slide a note asking Ashlynn Ella out to the dance through the slots of her locker, only to have the piece of paper come sliding back out over and over and over again for every time he shoved it back in until his pet squirrel, Pesky, burst out of the locker and taunted him before running away, leaving a recently arriving Ashlynn to roll her eyes with pity at her boyfriend's antics while he chased after his nuisance of a pet; even Daring Charming was getting in on the whole ordeal, stooping down on one knee in a dramatic and heroic fashion to kiss the back of Apple White's hand and eliciting a light blush from the princess while Faybelle Thorn gagged immaturely from around the corner.

What had Cupid so distracted was the disappearance of her beloved, crystal ball gifted to her by the whimsical and wise Professor Paradox that allowed her to view the world she had once known and an infinite amount of other possibilities to prevent events that she didn't know or fully understand from happening; she was mentally berating herself for not being able to keep the valuable trinket out of Kitty Cheshire's hands, much less be able to track it down although, in all fairness, anything that Kitty stole had a tendency to stay that way until the crafty cat grew bored with it and it ended up in the Lost and Crown a couple weeks later just before the previous owner's would have forgotten about it entirely.

Cupid had no plans to forget about her crystal ball and was on the hunt for the treasure and its kidnapper wherever the two of them lurked; thankfully, the young deity had managed to narrow her field of searching down to areas with wide, open windows that let the sun's dancing beams enter through and warm up a particular patch of carpet or marble to a comfortable and soothing temperature that the Cheshire simply couldn't refuse and would often spend hours upon hours simply catnapping until something interesting happened (which was usually every other hour or so, it seemed).

She decided to start her search in the LiFairy, considering it had the largest set of windows that made the comfy chairs and soft beanbags made available all the more comfy whenever they were in the right patch of sunlight or snuggled up in the warm atmosphere under the thundering rain and relentless downpour; taking great care to remain as quiet as possible, lest she incur the wrath of the Evil Step-Librarians, she softly tread through the labyrinth of ancient manuscripts laden with charms and spells, tomes with summoning rituals, and the sappy, romance novels that Cupid had once found herself checking out by the shelf before discovering the wonders of the crystal ball.

As she searched, she mentally began to wonder _why_ the crystal ball mattered to her that much in the first place, other than the fact it had been gifted to her by a nigh omnipotent being that could have given her great uncle Cronus a run for his money. The more she thought about it, she realized that she had been focusing less and less on her feelings for Dexter and his feelings for Raven, becoming distracted by the wonders of the crystal ball and unconcerned with her previous problems, as if they were simply melting away. Maybe that was what Paradox intended to do all along, to merely divert attention away from her problems instead of helping her? Or was that was supposed to happen? Was distraction what she needed?

A quiet snickering caught her attention and Cupid glanced upwards to see none other than Kitty Cheshire lying on her back on top of the book shelves in the Mytho-Biology section with her precious, crystal ball balanced on her hands and feet as if it were a ball of yarn that she was playing with; the young goddess felt her blood boil and her fists clench as she gave a single flap of her snowy wings and shot up the book shelf with little effort.

"Took you long enough."Kitty grinned without concern of finally being caught.

Cupid frowned. "Hand it over, Kitty." she threw out an expecting hand.

The Cheshire's broad grin only grew bigger as she lazily rolled over onto her belly, the crystal ball fluidly moving through her hands and fingers as she rested it beneath her chin before Cupid's grasping hands could steal it away from her. "I dunno, I have grown _quite_ fond of it. So much chaos to watch unfold . . ." she purred.

"Kitty, I am not kidding, hand it over now or so help ancestors above that I-"

"Tell me about Monster High." Kitty cut her off.

That shut Cupid right up then and there, her mouth hanging open as she gaped like a gasping fish, trying to form words before her wings faltered for a moment and she gripped the edge of the bookshelf, just barely stopping her fall and hauling herself up with a grunt. "How . . . how did you know?" she asked.

"Your little present is quite entertaining." was all Kitty said as she sat up and fluidly rolled the crystal ball across her arms and shoulders with great skill despite the fact that Cupid flinched whenever Kitty flexed her fingers and sent the ball rolling back along its path. "So many strange creatures, so much chaos . . . and the one with the watch on his wrist isn't half bad looking." she added.

Cupid sighed. "Kitty, can I _please_ have it back?"

Kitty hummed in thought, mockingly tapping her chin. "I dunno . . . I've grown quite fond of it. Where did you get it?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Cupid sighed once more. "Can I have it back?"

"Depends."

Cupid was almost afraid to ask. "On what?"

"Can I use this little trinket of yours, too?" the Daughter of the Cheshire Cat asked with her ever present smirk upon her lips.

"Kitty, I-"

Kitty interrupted her a second time, her usual smile growing all the wider; not only was it starting to vaguely annoy Cupid, but she was sure that the Cheshire's face muscles were at their limits, or had been for years and had permanently fixed her features to forever smile whether she was happy or not. "Maybe we can find you again."

"What did you say?" Cupid swallowed nervously, her lowering her voice when she heard the Evil Step-Librarians hiss like a pair of agitated snakes. "D-Did . . . you saw _me_. . . a-and _Ben? Together?_ " she could hardly believe it.

"Ben . . ." Kitty tried out the name, deciding that she liked it. "Yes, you and him were _very_ happy together. At least, an alternate version of you. Maybe if we can figure out how to work this thing we can find that other you again?" she offered when she caught sight of Cupid's expression; before the young deity even answered, she knew she had caught her full attention.

"Kitty . . ."

"Yes?" the foxy feline purred.

* * *

"Let me show you how to work the crystal ball." Cupid surrendered with a sigh.

The shadows provided warmth.

The shadows provided security.

The shadows provided comfort.

Then why did Twyla hate being stuck in them so much? She was a shadow creature, a Boogeyman, a creature of the night and dark, shady corners of dusty houses that time and civilization had long forgotten about, leaving them to wander and stalk the abyssal plane of dreams and nightmares that lingered in the minds of humans and monsters alike. So why did she dislike being forgotten about and left to cower in the protection of the shadows that lined the hallways and lockers on the very border between the darkness and the light that nurtured it as much as it abused it?

Maybe it was because had them all to herself. There was no one to share them with. She was all alone.

 _ **RIIIIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**_

With a sigh, Twyla took a single, cautious step out from the dark shadow that was cast just around the corner of a row of lockers, her silvery, pale skin tingling in an odd sensation when she stepped out into the light; while some shadows creatures perished in the bright intensity of the light compared to the coolness of the shadows, Boogeymen were not among them and Twyla only felt a slight discomfort whenever she walked out of the protection of the shadows and into the glaring intensity of the light. She clutched her books a little tighter and continued forward, head down and looking at her feet as she put one right in front of the other with barely much thought, her mind occupied by other things.

The shadow ghoul hardly noticed the way monsters looked at her as she passed by, how the majority slammed their locker doors and quickly flew, slithered, or ran away as fast as possible from her; the ghosts all rattled their chains with fear and slipped through the walls and floors, the tentacles that always seemed to find their way into the vents and lockers retreated back into the catacombs, the colonies of bats and gargoyles burst into chaotic swarms overhead, and every last werewolf within the halls whimpered and backed away with ears pinned back and tails between their legs out of sheer terror of the negative aura that seemed to roll off of Twyla in waves.

She tried to ignore the way monsters ran away from her or the way they talked in hushed whispers behind her back when they were sure they wouldn't she wouldn't be able to hear them; she knew they were scared of her, and she couldn't blame them. Not only was she fully aware of each and every last of their fears, the very things that made them scream and howl with fright and want to shove them into the deepest, darkest, most twisted corners of their minds to be forgotten about, but she was the daughter of none other than the infamous Boogeyman, the very monster that made those fears more than just pure imagination and brought them to life to frighten monsters witless.

Contrary to popular belief, Twyla's father was not as harsh and cruel as many believed him to be. Sure, it was his job to jump out from your closet or create those ominous noises that kept you awake for hours at a time from beneath your bed, and he sometimes neglected to care for her due to his duties, but he was a caring father nonetheless that tried to spend as much time as possible with her whenever his job did not dictate his unlife.

This however, did not translate to her classmates and as such she was often forgotten about and left to her own devices. And the few times she was actually remembered on occasion, it was often out of fear and only given a passing glance before she was but a distant memory in a monster's fear-filled mind. Of course, it didn't help that Twyla possessed the ability to transport herself and teleport around at will through the use of shadow traveling, walking into a shadow and then popping out a farther distance away at a different location; she often unconsciously used her classmates own shadows to travel to and fro from her classes, only increasing their fear of her whenever she inexplicably appeared behind them without warning only to disappear again. Because of this, the shadow ghoul had little to no friends that didn't consist of her pet dust bunny and her father's associates and fellow employees.

There was one student that attended Monster High however, that was hardly even frightened of her at all.

" _Oof!_ " Twyla grunted as she bumped into something that felt similar to a solid, steel wall covered in a thin layer of soft padding that knocked her flat down on her butt. Her books and papers went flying, falling like scattered Autumn leaves in the chilly winds that harbingered the whispers of Halloween.

"Watch where you're going!" a rude voice snapped venomously; a cautious glance upwards made Twyla flinched when she looked up at the imposing figure of a ghoul with sickly pale, green skin, lilac eyes trimmed with eyelashes that resembled tiny leaves, and a head of long, flowing hair colored a poisonous and beguiling purple stained blue and lavender for good measure, like a collection of cool colored paint cans that had been spilled together to form a vibrant and fluid color. Her figure was slender and alluring with wide hips, long legs, and a pair of breasts that absolutely put Twyla's own pitiful pair to shame as she unconsciously shrank back; creeping vines and dark hued flowers entangled themselves around the ghoul's ankles and arms, identifying herself as a plant ghoul of some kind whil wearing a soft, silken, white dress that reached down to her thighs with a black belt and trim and several long, purple reeds and petals that acted as a second skirt.

"Easy, Amanita. No harm done." a low and slightly graveled voice soothed the plant monster. The owner of the second voice was _much_ harder to ignore as Twyla had to crane her neck just to look up his ten-foot tall frame to look him in the eye, and even then she had to choose a specific set out of the two pairs that were offered; the creature was roughly humanoid with tough, red skin that was similar to a sheet of tempered steel coated in a layer of rubber padding for good measure and possessed two pairs of burly, muscled arms attached to a set of firm pectoral muscles and each tipped with four, crushing fingers that could have easily shattered every bone in her hand with a mere flex. His powerful legs were each tipped with a pair of sturdy claws and he wore two pairs of black, fingerless gloves, a pair of black pants, a black tank top with a wide, green stripe down the middle, and a green belt with a familiar looking disk taking the place of the buckle while he sported a sharp, flat beard and mustache.

Amanita didn't look convinced however. "The brat needs to watch where she's going . . . she almost made me break a nail." she grumbled darkly, folding her arms over her bust with a sour pout.

The Tetramand ignored her and reached down with one of his lower hands, offering it to Twyla to help her up; she took it with trembling fingers, half expecting to have her hand crushed only to find that he carefully grabbed her in two of his fingers and easily hauled her up from the floor as if she were light as a feather. "You alright?" he asked.

Twyla swallowed nervously, her pulse beginning to quicken. "Y-Yeah . . . I'm fine . . ." she gave a quiet whisper.

Four Arms nodded with a friendly smile. "I think you dropped these." he said, gesturing to his three, free arms that had expertly managed to snag and catch every last one of her papers and books, even her special, midnight blue pen that glimmered and sparkled like the stars in the sky, in his hands. Not a single item ever touched the floor.

"Thank you . . ." Twyla gulped shyly, taking her supplies as Four Arms handed them to her mere moments before there was a dying beeping sound and a blast of bright, green light that washed over the Tetramand's hulking figure, blinding Twyla and making her hiss uncomfortable from the sudden exposure before she was granted mercy and the light died.

Where Four Arms once stood there was now a much smaller and very human boy standing in his place, a warm and cocky smirk upon his face. He was a few inches taller than a pouting Amanita, yet Twyla only managed to come up to his chest, forcing her to look up once more at that smile of his and look directly at those bottomless, green pools of ivy; like freshly cut emeralds they seemed to sparkle beneath his fluid, chocolate locks. He was lean and on the wiry side, nowhere near as muscled of buff as Manny Taur (who, ironically enough, had a highly irrational fear of frogs, particularly the ones that Mr. Hackington used in his Biteology classes and the ones that Lagoona Blue insisted on liberating whenever the twisted old hack had his back turned), but not as thin as Jackson Jekyll either, being a good combination in between. Wrapped around him was a Monster High Letterman jacket, custom decorated with bubbling, green orbs and the occasional Omnitrix symbol that only briefly drew attention away from the original device upon his wrist.

Twyla blushed furiously, shying away from looking directly at Ben while Amanita seemed to be getting more and more irritated by the minute, as if she were aggravated by something. "Uh . . . m-my name is-"

"Twyla, right?" Ben finished for her, chuckling when the shadow ghoul blushed further. "We're in Mad Science together."

"R-Right." Twyla clutched her books tighter.

Amanita had finally decided to tune out Twyla's existence and childishly tugged on Ben's sleeve. " _Come on!_ We're going to be late! And if we're late, that means I can't have any fun with you later!" she whined; Ben rolled his eyes and turned on his heel to head off to class, practically being dragged down the corridor by Amanita's firm grip before a thought occurred to him and he stopped, turning back around to face Twyla.

"You coming?" he asked.

Twyla was slightly taken aback by the comment as usually no one ever asked her such questions, or any questions really. She was the ghoul that always sat in the back of the class, staying as quiet as possible, obediently taking her notes, and _never_ raising her hand to speak or answer a question. Whenever the class was to break up into groups for certain projects or experiments, she was always left alone to do her work by herself, often creating awkward groups of odd numbers that the creatures attempted to break up but never succeeded in; and should Twyla somehow be paired with anyone through forces neither could control, she gave her partner as much space as possible which only seemed to make them relax several hairs.

"I . . . I-I guess so . . ?" she whispered. "B-But we'll never make it to class on time . . ."

"Not if you're me." Ben smirked as he managed to pull Amanita's grip off of him and tap the Omnitrix fastened to his wrist, cycling through the roster and selecting the Chronosapien icon and slamming a hand down on the activation button and swallowing himself in a blast of green light. His arms began to itch and blister horribly as thousands upon millions of soft, yellow hairs sprouted all across his body, racing down his legs and over his chest, up his neck and across his face as his hands trembled and shifted with a series of loud cracks and snaps that quickly lost the use of his fifth finger, deemed useless to the current DNA flowing through his veins. His ears grew larger and fleshy, similar to that of a rodent's as they rotated up towards the top of his skull while his head bulged outward with a loud crackling noise into a low underbite that pressed his note flat against his face. Ben's canines lengthened and became longer and sharper, his skeleton cracking and groaning as it was compressed and shrunken down to a height several feet smaller than his original frame; a pair of long, furry, prehensile tails snaked out from the base of his spine, cracking and whipping back and forth with anticipation as his feet and hands swelled in size, growing to become opposable and perfect for gripping. Black gauntlet-like covers materialized on his wrists, allowing his fingers free movement as a suit with green rings at the joints that greatly exposed his furry chest cloaked his body comfortably, leaving the Omnitrix to appear around his waist in the form of a belt.

Twyla stifled a giggle as Teleportail blinked and slowly looked over himself. "Teleportail!? That doesn't even _sound_ like Clockwork! Ook! Ook!" the Vong Linducher complained.

Amanita rolled her eyes. "C'mon, tick, tock! I'm gonna be late if we don't get going!"

Teleportail brushed the comment off; before Twyla could protest, Teleportail had securely grabbed hold of her hand and wrapped an arm around Amanita's waist, pulling the two of them close to him as his tails began to spin slowly in a ring, quickly picking up speed until they were nothing but a buzzing blur. Twyla instinctively squeezed her eyes shut as a blinding, crackling light of energy consumed the three of them and removed from the mortal plane, leaving nothing behind but the indention of their feet in the carpet.

* * *

Mr. Hackington glanced eagerly at the thick wrist watch strapped to his wrist with sick anticipation, counting down the precious seconds until the bell would ring and he would violently slam and lock the door closed, shutting out any unfortunate student who had the gall to be tardy to his class! Oh, how he relished the feeling of seeing their expressions behind the small window pane as he closed the door in their faces, the look of hopelessness and despair at having their weekend plans all but shattered. He loved watching them sulk and pout and even break down right outside the door, a sense of adrenaline coursing through him when he-

The burly man's inner monologue was promptly interrupted as a blast of bright light ignited at the center of his classroom, drawing shouts and exclamations of surprise as Mr. Hackington was temporarily blinded until the explosion died down. Standing in front of the class with a triumphant smirk on his face was Teleportail with Amanita heavily hanging off his arm and Twyla looking like she wanted to run away and hide.

"Three, two, one . . ." the Vong Linducher counted off on his fingers.

 _ **RIIIIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**_

" _Oxidized dragon scales!_ " Hackington cursed angrily; the Vong Linducher and his various transformations were practically the bane of his existence as there was little to no way for the malformed man to effectively mess around with him like he did with his other students. With a grumble of obscenities under his breath, Mr. Hackington motioned for the three students to take their seats as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world, his ever cocky smirk upon his face as he and Amanita took the only available seats in the back of the class. Upon finding no other open seats, Twyla followed them and took the last one open next to Ben, shrinking back under Amanita's possessive gaze.

With a loud cough, Mr. Hackington began his class. "Today, class, we'll be conductin' a mandatory lab experiment . . . _and it will be worth a 1,000% of your summative grade!_ " he cackled madly, earning multiple eye rolls and groans from his students that turned into intense glares when Hackington started to cough and wheeze violently as if he were choking on a lung. Eventually however, the laugh-induced coughing fit ended and he handed out a thick stack of instructions and lab equipment while snickering under this breath every now and again, particularly when he got to Ben and assigned him, Twyla, and Amanita to be a group.

Twyla barely looked at Amanita, deliberately avoiding her poisonous eyes as the class scurried and scrambled to gather and organize their lab equipment, quickly slipping on lab coats, arm-length gloves, rubber boots, and safety goggles. This sounded like standard safety equipment for a lab experiment, if one didn't have Mr. "Hack" Hackington for a teacher for their Mad Science class; the cruel man would occasionally give an unfortunate student the wrong instructions, cackling like a rabid hyena whenever the experiment blew up in their faces. The harsh pranks were unfortunately not numerous enough to be called a recurring problem to the Board of Deaducation, thus keeping Mr. Hackington firmly rooted in his occupation as Monster High's unforgiving Mad Science creature.

Ben however, was hardly effected or bothered by such issues and tapped the Omnitrix attached to his wrist, cycling through the available aliens and selecting the one he needed before slapping down on the core and swallowing himself in a blast of green light. His skin hardened into a texture that was crusty to the touch yet very smooth as it turned a blueish-purple in color, a few dark spots and blotches appearing on his expanding shoulders. Muscles and tissue squelched and slapped against each other as Ben's figure swelled in size; his bones crunched and ground heavily against each other as they became thick and designed to support a considerable amount of weight, made evident by his slightly portly figure. Every last hair on his head and body disappeared, slurped back inside of him like strands of noodles as metallic nozzles thrust themselves out of his broad, rounded shoulders, and bloated forearms and connected to a special circulatory system that was forming inside of his body, safely away from the veins and arteries that allowed his blue blood to flow through his body and eight-chambered heart. More nozzles embedded themselves into his body as his toes melted together to single digits that were quickly obscured by the sudden appearance of a green-colored containment suit of some kind with green gauntlets and large, white gloves that fitted around his grubby fingers. A breathing mechanism similar to a gas make of some kind formed around his face and covered his mouth as a few more nozzles sprouted from his bald head and the Omnitrix formed over his mouth; a glass pane appeared in his gut, allowing a dull view of a variety of unusual and mysterious chemicals that swirled and floated around inside of his intestines.

Gutrot gave a loud breathing sound like someone blowing through a hollow tube and cracked his fingers as he glanced over the instructions. "Alright, lets see what we got goin' on 'ere . . ."

Twyla attempted to read over his shoulder in the hopes of being useful to her new partners, but retreated back a distance when Amanita hissed silently at her and curled her protective fingers around Gutrot's shoulders in a possessive gesture. Twyla knew that gesture all too well from the way her pet dust bunny, Dustin, always reacted to other stray dust bunny's that made their way through his territory or got too close to his owner for comfort; in truth, the shadow ghoul didn't mind waking up to finding a couple, cute balls of dust crawling and scampering all over, it just came with her nocturnal nature and preference of dark, forgotten places.

This gesture was also quite common in the way Clawdeen Wolf was whenever some ghoul or man-ster that she didn't know or suspected or mischief (such as Toralei) got too close to her ghoulfriend, Isi Dawndancer, for comfort. One would have found their relationship to be a strange, a werewolf and a deer spirit and both ghouls no less, sharing a healthy, loving relationship with one another, but then again Manny Taur and Jackson Jekyll weren't that odd of a pair either; one naturally preyed on the other in some form or other, but were able to resist such behavior in favor of being comforted for their insecurities. It wasn't a very big secret that Clawdeen always felt uncomfortable around Draculaura and Clawd or Frankie and Andy Beast, and Isi was more than capable of helping her ghoulfriend through such issues much like Jackson ironically helped the big and buff minotaur.

"Twyla? Twyla! _Twyla!_ "

The pale-skinned ghoul jumped out of her thoughts, shrinking back with a sharp tinge of pink to her face when she noticed that Gutrot was looking at her strangely. Amanita however, seemed more like she was trying to burn a hole right through her face.

Gutrot cocked an eyebrow. "You alright, ghoul? You were kinda lost there."

Twyla swallowed nervously. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

" _Good._ " Amanita narrowed her eyes with suspicion before returning her attention back to the matter at hand. "Ben needs three teaspoons ounces of powdered phoenix eggshell."

Twyla nodded and grabbed the packet of finely ground powder off of the table, fumbling with it for a few seconds before she finally managed to open it with shaky fingers and scooped out the desired amount. It was then a small thought occurred to her. "Um . . . th-this won't explode on us, r-r-right?" she gulped; anything related to phoenixes was notorious for being highly explosive or flammable, sometimes even both, and poor Heath Burns had experienced this first hand when he had foolishly mixed the eggshells with some of the fiery bird's ashes and accidentally lit it all on fire.

Thanks to the efforts of Water hazard and the New Salem Fire Department however, the damage was minimal and Heath suffered little to no injury, other than a sore back and the severe wound to his pride.

Gutrot shook his head. "Nah, I looked over all the directions an' stuff an' everythin' checks out. As long as we don' mix the phoenix ashes with the nitroglycerin, diethylene glycol dinitrate, or dragon vomit."

" _Dragon vomit!?_ " Amanita gagged, stepping a fair distance away from the chemical-based alien with disgust. "What kind of class makes you play with _that_ stuff!?"

"Don' forget about the niroglycerin. Very explosive that stuff . . ." Gutrot mumbled under his breath as he carefully tapped the teaspoon of powdered eggshell on the brim of the beaker and stirred the mixture with the provided popsicle stick (Mr. Hackington had tried to convince them all that they were high-tech instruments and that the mysterious stains on them were directions on how to properly use them, but nobody bought that explanation, not even Heath).

With Amanita keeping a respective distance away, despite being fully protected from the chemicals and ingredients they would be mixing together for their lab, Twyla was forced/able to get closer to Gutrot and supply him with the necessary ingredients and the measurements they required that he needed. Normally she wasn't able to get this close to people without them tensing up in fear, like she was going to drain them of their souls or something, or without them suddenly putting a fair amount of distance between the two of them, but that was where Gutrot, or more precisely, Ben differed.

He was the kind of guy that should have looked down at monsters like her, should have laughed at her, should have bullied her into doing everything he didn't want to while he lazed about and enjoyed life; but Ben was different. Sure he was on every sports team Monster High had to offer, everything from the swim team to casketball, and had been voted M.V.M (Most Valuable Monster) nearly as many times as Clawd and Manny, but he was also the one that made time to turn into Grey Matter or Brainstorm and play a game of chess every Thursday during their shared Study Howl with Ghoulia Yelps, the one who raced Finnigan Wake around the school to practice for track, the one that ventured into the labyrinth of air ducts and ventilation shafts to talk to Jane Boolittle and slowly coax her out into the hallways.

And he was also the kind of guy that seemed to be taking a particular interest in her.

"Hey, uh, ya mind passin' me-" Gutrot started before he stopped talking, his beady eyes trailing downwards to where his gigantic, grubby palm had rested upon a packet of dried maggot innards just as Twyla reached for them at the same time, placing her tiny hand on top of his herculean fingers. The shadow ghoul immediately jerked her hand away, backing away and mumbling things under her breath; Amanita looked like she was going to explode with the way she was trembling angrily and her face turning a lovely shade of red.

"Uh, Twyla? You okay?" Gutrot raised an eyebrow with concern.

"I-I'm f-fine, Ben." Twyla nodded her head, her gaze just barely looking past the chemical-based alien at Amanita. The plant-monster ghoul was clenching jaw tightly, grinding her teeth together as she made several threatening hand gestures that looked similar to one slitting their wrists or slicing their throats, or even strangling someone as well.

"You sure? 'Cause you seem a little-"

It was then that the beaker upon the desk in front of them began to tremble and rattle loudly against the wood, quickly drawing all three of their attentions towards the mixture. The volatile concoction was bubbling angrily and churning a bright purple in color, something it most certainly should have _not_ been doing if the looks from several surrounding classmates was anything to go by.

" _She's gonna blow!_ " Gutrot announced loudly; Twyla instinctively crouched down to the ground with her hands over her head as other students scrambled to get underneath desks or fly to the farthest corners of the dank laboratory for those that had wings. Gutrot instead opted to slam a gloved hand onto the Omnitrix fastened to his breathing device and encompassed himself in a blast of green light, scrambling his genetic code into something new. The soft skin of his head began to harden into a cool, organic, substance comparable to that of plastic as his joints became more rigid and stiff the more the red in his fingers traveled up his armsl his limbs swelled and bulked up to a considerable size, becoming cubular in shape as his shoulders rounded and smoothed out to tapper swimmingly into his short neck and arms. A loud cracking noise filled the air as Ben's jaw jutted outwards and his brow grew thick and heavy, becoming greatly pronounced as it turned yellow and several bony knobs formed all along his changing body. The colors red, yellow, and blue flashed across his skin as a loud crunching noise the air when his legs suddenly compressed and compacted themselves into limbs less than half of their original size while spine arched forward and forced him down onto his hands; his knuckles swelled to over-sized proportions as the rest of his features snapped into a cube-like shape, the transformation ending as the Omnitrix appeared upon his chest.

With a loud clattering noise, Bloxx morphed and reconfigured his body into a protective dome over Twyla's trembling frame just as the rattling concoction exploded with a loud bang, filling the air with noxious smoke as Amanita shrieked like a banshee moments before a loud, wet _splat!_ echoed off the dank walls.

Twyla was caught between briefly wondering where she was in this new world of faded primary colors and investigating what the discomforting noise and results of the explosion had been, but she opted to simply relax and enjoy how close she was to Bloxx even if it was by the smallest degree; as a rule of her heritage, little to no one ever attempted to touch her and if by some mistake they brushed past her shoulder or bumped into her in the hall, they'd cower down on the floor begging for forgiveness or run screaming in the opposite direction. The loud clattering of the Segmentasapien's body filled her ears as Bloxx reconfigured and assumed his original, hunched over form to shake off a thin sheen of wet slime that Twyla found herself giggling at.

"Glad you enjoyed it so much." Bloxx smirked in his gruff tone as he playfully flicked some of the slime at Twyla. The shadow ghoul jumped back and narrowly avoided getting hit, feeling her smile broaden and a light blush cross her face when she noticed the Segmentasapien's knowing grin.

" _Helloooo!?_ What about me!?" Amanita screeched indignantly from her spot plastered to the wall. Whatever had erupted forth from the beaker had been blasted out in a small radius that covered only two rows worth of desks and leaving the majority of students unharmed, if only scared witless, and Amanita the only casualty; then again, being thrown against and firmly stuck to the wall by the quickly solidifying substance could hardly be called a casualty as Amanita was still alive and kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs as she tried to get free.

Mr. Hackington, of course, was no help at all and proceeded to guffaw and laugh until Twyla was sure he was going to erupt into one of his infamous coughing fits that sounded like he was going to hack up a lung.

"Hurry! My beautiful nose itches and this stuff is disgusting! No one look at me!" Amanita snarled venomously.

Bloxx sighed. "I'm on it."

Twyla felt her heart clench tightly as she watched the Segmentasapien latch his fingers onto the patch of quickly solidifying slime and gave a gruff tug with all his strength, his arms starting to stretch with a forced clinking noise as his limbs extended segment by segment; cracks slowly started to form across the concrete-hard bubbles that held Amanita firmly pinned to the wall as Bloxx continued to pull and heave, ignoring the way Amanita was struggling and cursing against her bonds.

His alien forms were interesting to say the least, a unique quirk that made Ben all the more fascinating to the shadow ghoul, but even so Twyla still preferred his human appearance to the many masks and costumes he hid behind. She had been watching him for maybe a couple of months now, no more than a few passing glances as she moved between the shadows . . . and the occasional longing stare as she watched from the shadowed corners, watching hopelessly as other ghouls drooled over him and hung off his arm only to be chased away from the overprotective Amanita Nightshade. The few times she had managed to get close to Ben, even without him knowing that she was there while she hid in the darkness of the shade, she had never felt so calm or relaxed or safe even . . . if only she ever had the courage to talk to him . . .

With a sigh, Twyla fell back in her chair and continued to watch as Bloxx gave up on pulling and morphed his blocky hands into a pair of strong mallets that he began to hammer heavily against the mysterious concoction, creating a steady beat under the rhythm of Mr. Hackington's uproarious laughter. If only there was a way she could tell him how she felt without having to face him and possibly get a response back . . .

" _YAH!_ " Bloxx cried as he gave the final, devastating blow to the concrete-like substance holding Amanita to the wall with a loud _crash!_ and allowed the pieces to clatter and fall to the floor; the Omnitrix then timed out in a blast of green light as the Segmentasapien struck a heroic, triumphant pose that drew an amused smile from Twyla and an unamused scowl from Amanita as Ben was returned to the world.

The plant-monster ghoul grumbled obscenities under her breath as she carefully examined one of her manicured nails for signs of damage. "About time . . . the brat tried to kill me!" she suddenly accused Twyla, jamming a finger in the shadow ghoul's direction; several surprised and stunned gasps radiated throughout the classroom as students scrambled away from Twyla in fear while Mr. Hackington let lose with another round of harsh laughter that made his belly fat jiggle in response.

"Actually . . . she didn't." Ben corrected Amanita.

The plant ghoul was unconvinced. "Then what exactly happened?" she snarled venomously.

"Simple really. Gutrot got the chemicals mixed up." Ben explained with a confident smirk upon his face as he folded his arms over his chest. The statement sent several hushed whispers and confused remarks through the crowd as the chemical-based alien was notorious for managing to outwit and detect any flaws in their cruel teacher's plans for lab experiments, having been able to prevent a multitude of explosions that would have sent more than a few monsters down to the Nurse's Office or even home to recover from their wounds. "Or rather, Mr. Hack has."

"What're you talkin' about!? I didn' do nothin'!" the burly and smelly man growled angrily.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Says the guy who seems to take a particular interest in our torture, such as giving us the wrong instructions or _switching out ingredients_ in the hopes of either blowing ourselves up for his own amusement or giving us detention."

Twyla swallowed nervously, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "He does . . . have a point . . ." she murmured.

Ben beamed proudly at her before turning back to glare at Mr. Hackington. "People could have gotten hurt, and that isn't something I'm taking lying down."

"What're you gonna do about it, Tennyson?" Hackington scoffed. Despite having what could arguably be the most powerful monster in the world as his student (Ben simply refused to be called anything else), Hackington showed little to no fear of him at all, which often made him underestimate Ben's capabilities and earn several swift strikes to his ego.

Ben smirked as he tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through his roster of transformations before finding the alien he was looking for and selecting it. "Don't worry, Hack. By the time I'm done with you, this'll all feel like nothing more than a bad dream." he lightly quipped before he pressed down on the activation core and swallowed himself in a blast of green light. His skin began to crack and harden slightly, scrunching up and pinching in certain places as his pink skin flashed a light lavender in color while his bones faded and liquefied into nothingness, fusing together with his soft exoskeleton; his tall, lean frame was compressed and compacted down until he was less than two feet tall. Ben felt an itching sensation on his backside and turned to look behind him as a pair of delicate, butterfly-like wings slid and oozed from his back, still damp and wet before they became stiff and rigid as they dried out and turned a light magenta and pink in color. His toes cracked and melted together into two, small claws as white gloves appeared over his delicate fingers and bright pink and purple markings arched themselves over his face and arms while his hair turned a dark shade of violet and curled back as a pair of feathery antennae sprouted from his forehead above his eyes. His eyes sharpened and became pointed as a green and black dress wrapped around him, completing the transformation as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest.

"Fear _rrrrrrr_ me." Pesky Dust purred.

Mr. Hackington took one look at the fairy-like alien and immediately burst out into a gut-jiggling, lung-killing, crazed-lunatic laugh that reverberated that echoed in resounding waves like an endless tidal wave of sound as he held his sides and held onto the edge of his desk for support. It was even worse than the evil cackling her usually got whenever he piled his student's backpacks high with an unreasonable amount of homework; despite this fact, one would be hard pressed to hold back a snicker of amusement of look of confusion as the Nemuina simply hovered there in the air with his tiny wings beating relentlessly to keep him aloft.

" _Rrrrrrrr_ we can do this the easy way or we can do this the-"

" _BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!_ " was the uncontrollable response.

Normally this would have upset any sort of small, flying creature that attended Monster High as they absolutely loathed being laughed at for their tiny size and adorable sounding voices, not to mention the fact that a majority of the lumbering giants charging through the halls like a herd of rampaging mammoths almost always, very nearly stepped on them, but the Nemuina merely let a devious grin cross his face as he dipped slightly and flapped his wings to fly up close to Mr. Hackington's head.

Pesky Dust giggled mischievously. "Sweet . . . _rrrrrrr_ dreams, Hacky!"

Before the burly madman could do anything (not that he could, he was still laughing his butt off), the Nemuina buzzed around in a tight circle over his head, flying faster and faster, tighter and tighter around Mr. Hackington's almost nonexistent hairline (despite that fact, he seemed to suffer from a great amount of lice) before he gave a sudden twist of his body and swung in a tight corkscrew. Twyla then watched with fascination as a blast of glitter, sparkling dust exploded outwards from Pesky Dust's body, drifting down like snowflakes or dandruff onto Mr. Hackington's face.

"Give it a _rrrrrrrr_ moment." Pesky Dust cooed as he held up a finger.

The cruel Mad Science teacher slowly, steadily began to decrease in movement and volume, his horrendous laughter falling into a series of stifled giggles that then died into a chuckle every few seconds or so. Mr. Hackington then let out a tremendous yawn and fought to keep his eyes open as Pesky Dust descended down in frotn of his face with his arms folded over his chest and a smug smile on his face.

" _Timber!_ " the Nemuina announced loudly as Mr. Hackington slumped to the floor and landed with a loud _thwack!_ sound asleep and oblivious to the outside world. Pesky Dust then landed on the ground as the Omnitrix timed out and returned him to his human form, standing triumphantly over Mr. Hackington's body as if he were posing for a hunting photo for the recently shot carcass of a large and obese Devil Fish.

The class was silent for several seconds before suddenly exploding into loud cheers and clapping, excited ghouls and man-sters jumping up and down for joy in their seats as they hurriedly tore off their safety gear and equipment and scrambled madly for the door, not wanting to see how long it would take for the dreaded teacher to wake up. This left only Amanita, Twyla, and Ben left in the room with Mr. Hackington as he began to snore loudly on the floor, mumbling things in his sleep as he sucked his thumb; Ben resisted the urge to snap a photo for blackmail.

"Well, I guess class is dismissed then." Ben chuckled awkwardly.

" _HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!_ " Amanita cackled perhaps a bit too loudly, drawing looks of confusion from Twyla and Ben. "Oh, that's a riot!"

"It wasn't that funny . . ." Ben murmured strangely as Amanita sauntered over to him a seductive smirk upon her lips when she latched onto his arm with a tight, vice-like grip.

Amanita rested her head on his shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous, Ben. You're _always_ funny!" her gaze flickered to Twyla, as if daring her to come any closer. The shadow ghoul had seen that look before from her travels throughout her dark and umbrageous, mostly on the faces of young monsters that couldn't have been more than sixty moon cycles when they hugged or protected a cherished stuffed animal or toy away from fellow playmates or siblings. Without a word, Twyla slowly backed away and gathered her books and materials, glancing back up at Ben with a shy smile before she stepped into a shadow and vanished.

 _About time,_ Amanita thought to herself.

* * *

 _ **RIIIIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**_

Twyla peered out from the shadows around the corner of a row of lockers, her glow-in-the-dark eyes the only visible as she hung back from the now crowded hallways choked with students and staff rushing about their business; no one would have ever noticed the pair of unblinking eyes starring out at them from the darkness. The shadow ghoul flickered her eyes back and forth down the hall, like candles in the darkness they moved as they searched for Ben. When she didn't see him or any of his alien forms (despite the fact that some of them bared resemblance to certain monsters, they were different enough that one could tell them apart if they looked hard enough) she closed her eyes and took a step back into the shadow.

Shadow traveling was an odd sensation for anyone who was not familiar with it, but then again Twyla had been doing it from a young age; her father had told her stories about how she always managed to get out of her crib in the most oddest and sometimes dangerous of places, tearing her father's hair out until he got the idea to install a very bright light over her crib to keep her in one place until she learned how to properly use her abilities. And still the sensation of umbraportation still took some time to get use to. If she were to describe it, shadow traveling was like moving through a tunnel of sorts so fast that it felt like ones face was going to peel off before they stepped out the other side or jumping down a well only to bounce on a trampoline placed at the bottom and sent back out the top depending on where the two shadows required to travel were positioned.

The shadow ghoul then popped out of the hulking shadow of Manny Taur as he passed by, the minotaur thankfully oblivious to her sudden appearance. Even he didn't notice her, quite a few other monsters did and instantly gave her a wide berth as she hugged the side of the hallway and kept to herself, avoiding the stares sent her way. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking, she reached her destination: Ben's locker.

Twyla bit her lip and reached into her pocket, pulling out a slip of folded paper between her fingers and regarding it with uncertainty. Was she really prepared to do this? Would he even respond if she did so? There was only one way to find out, and if she didn't do it quickly there was a chance that Ben would find her before she was ready. With a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves for a second or two, she slid the folded piece of paper between the slits of Ben's lockers and instantly turned around to jump into the shadow of Batsy Claro as the white vampire bat attempted to swoop by unnoticed.

Unbeknownst to Twyla, the note had not slipped all the way through into the safety of Ben's locker, leaving it more than exposed and able to be pried out by the fingers of Amanita Nightshade. The plant-monster ghoul tugged the slip of paper free and opened it, her suspicious eyes narrowing when she read over the words shakily scrawled across the white surface by a nervous hand.

 _Dear Ben,_

 _I . . . know we haven't known each other for a long time . . . maybe you have? I wouldn't know . . . I suppose you're wondering why I gave you this note, much less even bothered trying to talk to you. But . . . I guess I like you? Maybe? Truth be told, I'm little scared to find out the answer . . ._

 _I know this might be asking a lot and could very well just be a waste of your time, but . . . will you go out with me? Maybe to a movie? If you don't want to that's okay, really, I don't mind at all . . . I mean, you probably wouldn't want to bother with a ghoul like me . . . if I was anyone else, I certainly wouldn't. I'm not worth the trouble or even the time . . ._

 _Well, here's hoping? I feel so weird . . ._

 _\- Twyla Boogeyman (Daughter of the Boogeyman if that wasn't clear enough)_

 _P.S. Sorry about the little joke back there . . . just wanted to be sure . . ._

Amanita was absolutely furious as she viciously crumbled the little note up into a ball of paper and shocked it on the ground, furiously stomping on it and drawing some confused looks that she met with a venomo hiss that sent them on their way.

How dare that pathetic piece of shadow shit try and steal her man!? She was hardly even worthy of him, much less to even think about licking the scum off of the bottom of his shoes! Ben was hers and hers alone, no exceptions! Sure, they weren't an _official_ couple like that hussy Cleo De Nile and her admittedly attractive man, Deuce Gorgon, but they were going to be! It was only a matter of time before Ben noticed her natural beauty and absolutely fell in love with her, thinking of nothing else but to please her in any manner she saw fit. And by then, he would forget about any other ghoul he may have been close with because he was focusing on her and her alone! Yes, that was it! The two of them, especially her, would rise to popularity and overshadow everyone else within Monster High until she was adored and admired by all!

But first she had a certain Boogeyman to put in her place.

With a desperation and a necessity for vengeance in her step, Amanita quickly walked as fast as possible down the hall and towards her locker without appearing suspicious by running, lest she draw the attention of Mr. Rotter and his strict ways of learning and keeping order. Once she had reached her own locker without drawing attention to herself (for once), she quickly did the combo and threw the door open, rummaging around past the layers of selfies and forgotten books and papers strewn about and ignoring her pet maggot that was obliviously asleep on the top shelf until she pulled out three things: a blank piece of paper, a pencil tipped with a skull-shaped eraser, and a note from Ben to meet her at the cafe down the street for lunch.

Amanita now spent several painstaking minutes tracing her pencil across the piece of paper, carefully copying Ben's handwriting to ensure that no one would be able to tell the difference as she scrawled out a message on the blank piece of paper. It took a little trial and error to get how he dotted his 'i's and crossed his 't's just write and how his 'e's were always a little squashed, but she eventually came out with a forged letter that whose lettering was all but identical to that of the note.

Now with a devious grin upon her lips, Amanita scrambled to her feet, closed her locker, and hurriedly strolled back down the hall with the forged note tucked away in her pocket as she tried to remember where the general vicinity of the pathetic shadow slut. She eventually found it. It wasn't that hard, really, considering that it was the locker that everyone avoided at all costs, even those who were forced to be neighbors with her. Amanita took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching her approach the dreaded locker before hurriedly rushed up to it and stuffed the forged letter through the slots of the locker and walked away as fast as possible, trying to hide the oblique smile that crept across her features.

Oh, yes, that little hussy would learn not to mess with her man.

* * *

Twyla anxiously checked her iCoffin again and was met with the blank screen that emotionlessly told her that the time was only a quarter past seven. She sighed and slumped back against the bench outside of the movie theater, the cool summer breeze caressing her pale, silvery skin and rustling her twilight locks ever so slightly like the fallen leaves strewn about on an autumn night; she had been asked by Ben to meet her outside of the theater complex at 6:30 with the warning that he might be running late should some crazy yahoo didn't decide to" raise terror in New Salem", according to the note. Fourty-five minutes later and she was still waiting on a bench underneath a streetlamp waiting for him to arrive.

Perhaps he would come speeding up the sidewalk in his Citrakayah form descend from the sky as a Lepidopterran. Maybe he would come swinging down from the rooftops as an Arachnichimp or come burrowing up out of the ground as a Talpaedan. She tried calling the number he had left scrawled on the piece of paper she found in her locker numerous times, only to be met with an automated answering machine asking her to call back at a later time. With a sigh, Twyla pulled the same note out of her pocket and read it over again, hoping to pass the time.

 _Dear Twyla,_

 _I was wondering if you felt the same way or not, and I'm so glad that you do! How about we go for a movie like you suggested? Maybe the latest Vampire Majesty movie? I hear it's really good. I can meet you outside around 6:30, provided some evil nutcase doesn't try to raise terror in New Salem . . . you wouldn't believe how often that's happened . . ._

 _If I'm there within ten minutes, call me at this number: 917-408-107_

 _Looking forward to seeing you tonight!_

\- Ben Tennyson

 _P.S. Nice job in Mad Science today ;)_

The shadow creature sighed and folded the letter back up to then glance at her iCoffin and find that only five minutes had passed since she had last looked at it. Twyla then clicked off her phone and slumped back against the bench wondering when Ben would arrive; she had chosen to go with a slightly different outfit than what she wore at school, nothing too fancy or different so as not too appear too excited and make her date uncomfortable. She wore a top similar to the one that she usually wore for school days, save for the shorter sleeves, slightly lighter coloring, and the cobweb patterns that hung across her stomach and small breasts with small spiders dangling from them, poised and ready to leap down on unsuspecting prey. Her pastel green and twilight hair was kept a little neater and she wore a pair of shorts that reached just above her knees held up by a black belt with a skull-shaped buckle, a pair of sneakers upon her feet so as to be casual as possible.

"He's just running late." Twyla told herself.

Ben was renown for being late to his classes and certain events due to the responsibilities that came with wielding the Omnitrix; more than once he had brought the fight onto the school grounds and Twyla couldn't even count the number of times she had seen Gravattack or Snare-oh or Rocks fighting off one of Dr. Animo's sick, twisted mutants or The Vengers forces. At the very least it made for great entertainment, and a secret betting pool had been built around the fights that made their way onto school property on which alien Ben was going to turn into. Regardless of his responsibilities, he always attempted to make up for it when he arrived at his scheduled events. There had even been one certain casketball game where a combination of XLR8 and Crashhopper had managed to win the game with only two minutes to spare and a number of roughly fifty points scored in that time.

"He's just running late, that's all." Twyla repeated, shifting her position on the bench.

But as the seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned into hours, Twyla began to have her doubts that Ben would even show. Happy couples walked in and out of the theater in droves at certain times, either gossiping about how great the movie was or simply enjoying each other's touch and embrace, but all went silent and quickened their step when they passed Twyla as she lounged on the bench with her head resting in her palm. The temperature dropped ever so slightly, making the warm night cooler and all the more bearable and Ben still didn't show.

Twyla took the time to lay on her back on the bench and stare up at the night sky, counting the number of stars she could see all at once one by one and losing track sometimes only to start over again until she had counted approximately 897 all within the sight of her eyes. After that, she took to observing and naming the constellations to herself, remembering the story that went with each one, everything from Lupa the Mother of All Werewolves to the First Headless Horseman and even Ursa Lycanthrope Major. The fireflies and wild Will-o-Wisps came out in their dazzling, blinking lights and soft, wailing cries, entertaining Twyla with their sporadic movements. And Ben still didn't show.

The shadow ghoul supposed she couldn't _entirely_ blame him. She was at that age when certain monsters under a sort of puberty, growing new limbs and body parts and acquiring new powers and abilities, often undergoing strange transformations that frightened and confused those around them; Venus McFlytrap had once undergone such a growth spurt and the entire school had been turned into a gigantic, carnivorous rainforest that attacked anything that moved and wasn't a plant; Lagoona Blue had gone through a cycle that her far more aggressive and sexual aroused to anyone her primitive instincts deemed to be a suitable mate, which unfortunately didn't include Gil by somehow sent the sea monster chasing after Ben; Heath Burns had simply been subjected to uncontrollable sneezing that had a habit of melting within range to a smoldering hot mess; even Jane Boolittle had been put through a frightening rampage when she had suddenly developed shape-shifting capabilities that left her predatory, always hungry, and nearly the victim of a Creature Control invasion had Ben had not managed to literally knock some sense into her.

Twyla shared a similar problem to Jane, in the fact that the two of them were morphed into new forms at will. Unlike the reclusive and shy shape-shifter however, the shadow ghoul was subjected to a horrific and frightening transformation that was incredibly painful and often traumatizing to anyone who happened to witness it up close and personal; records among other shadow creatures were varied, as each individual underwent a transformation that was unique as a monster's fingerprint. Among those accounts however, were descriptions of terrifying new forms of sick and twisted body parts, horrifying appearances, and the sudden new ability to sense and exploit nearby sapient lifeforms fears and uncertainties, often subjecting them through a haunting look of the eyes.

She suspected that Ben might possibly be worried that she would undergo this transformation during their date, as they were recorded to happen at any time within a year of a shadow creature hitting one hundred-eighty moon cycles. But then again, Ben was renown for supposedly fearing nothing: whenever something plagued the school that often sent students and staff running away in the opposite direction, Ben was always running _towards_ the problem, usually to solve by hitting it at first (especially whenever the Omnitrix dialed in Rath to resolve the issue).

By the time midnight rolled around, Twyla was beginning to have second thoughts about even asking him out on this date that she had bravely set up for them. Even if Ben showed up, what were the odds that they would ever go on a second date after this or even become a couple? What if he only saw her as a friend or a ticket to good grades (she was a relatively smart ghoul and Ben had been prohibited against using his more intelligent alien forms in his classes to level the playing field a bit, with the exception of Home Ick and Auto Shop to prevent any accidents from happening)? Compared to ghouls such as Gooliope Jellington, Cleo De Nile, and Venus McFlytrap, she was incredibly flat chested and not as curvy, severely lacking in the physical attraction department and having little to no social skills and would be of no particular interest.

But then again, Jane had managed to steal the heart of Venus herself, and she was just as cloistered as Twyla was, if not even more.

"He's just running late . . ." Twyla continued to tell herself weakly, glancing at her iCoffin with tired eyes and finding that it was now five in the morning, the sun faintly appearing distantly over the horizon over an angry sea of storm clouds that had slowly been gathering all night. But by this time the shadow ghoul knew she was just kidding herself, filling her head with empty lies and hopes and dreams that were never going to come true. With a sniff, Twyla pulled out the note she had received from Ben and folded it back open, knowing full well that the phone number given to her had never been picked up and would most likely never be picked up; she starred at the words for what felt an hour, unaware that she was staining the invitation with her tears as she started to cry out of misery.

Eventually, she crumbled the letter into a tight ball and threw it into the nearest trash can, stepping into its shadow as she attempted to dry the tears of sorrow that were streaming down her face and ending up unsuccessful.

How could she have been so foolish? How could she have ever thought that Ben, one of the most popular kids in school, the wielder of the universe's most powerful device, the MVP of almost every single sports team available at Monster High, the guy that ghouls drooled over during lunch, could ever love someone as antisocial as her? Monsters ran away from her, monsters feared her, monsters screamed at the mere _sight_ of her, and even then none of them even knew her name, only that she was to be hated and despised and feared and forgotten all because her father haunted their dreams and lurked beneath their beds.

Still distraught, Twyla reappeared under the stretched shadow of a bare tree in front of the Boogie Mansion, a large and expansive house whose outside was decorated and covered in multiple doors and windows that all led to various parts of the house, but only one of which acted as a front door; despite this minor safety and privacy hazard, none of the doors led to the bedrooms of their residents and were designed to randomly open and teleport any unwanted guests who didn't use the safety of the aforementioned main entrance all over the house until they eventually went mad with insanity, uanble to make their way through the labyrinth of endless doors.

Without a word and only the sound of her own, pathetic whimpering and sorrows, Twyla rushed through the front door and made her way through the maze that was her house, dashing into a broom closet and reappearing in a closet before she ran into the living room and came out on a trap door in the ceiling that usually led to the attic when it didn't allow passerby to walk on the ceiling. Eventually after making her way through the laundry room and several broom closets, Twyla found herself in her own bedroom and flopped down on the bed, curling up into the tiniest, tightest ball she would manage and allowing herself to sob freely, staining her sheets with tears.

How could she have been so _blind,_ so _stupid,_ so naive!? How could she have even thought that she stood a chance with Ben? She hardly even registered on the school's unspoken food chain despite being the most feared person in all of Monster High! Nobody even knew her name! She was just another nameless face in a sea of nameless faces attached to nameless bodies that would live nameless lives, and she had been so foolish to think that she could have even changed that. Her ordeal of waiting all throughout the night while her father was away on the business had left her exhausted and barely able to keep her eyes open, her body overcome with fatigue.

For the next hour, Twyla would cry herself to sleep, wondering why Ben had done this to her, and why she had deserved any of this.

* * *

Twyla didn't know when she woke up, but it felt like she had been sleeping for years if that was even possible for her species. Her arms were as heavy as bars of iron, her were as stiff as boards, her head felt like a cannonball. Her body was aching and fatigued from sleeping so long and heavy, her senses tingling and not as up to par as they were when she was awake, that she almost didn't notice the suspicious odor wafting its way through the air.

Almost.

Her eyes snapped open and she coughed violently at the sudden exposure to the foil atmosphere, her eyes watering sufficiently from the hot embers of the smoke that filled her house. And where there was smoke, there was always fire; going to Monster High, she was used to a little bit of exhaust and ash whenever Heath got excited or Robecca Steam was running late to her latest class and was trying to arrive on time (despite her inner clock always being off). But this kind of fire, was _not_ something she was use to. There was too much of it, creating too much smoke that sucked out the valuable oxygen of the room and filled her lungs to the point where she could hardly breath.

Twyla's instincts were telling her to run, screaming for her to get to safety, to jump into the nearest shadow created by the dancing flames that were starting to make their way into her room and try to call the fire department to save her home. But her more rational side was telling her to give in, to just lie there and wait for either the fire or the smoke to claim her, to take her away from this world where she no longer had anything to live for and just end it all. Maybe she would be granted mercy when she entered the Underworld and would be changed into a ghost, taking a ride on River Styxx's boat to what might be a better afterlife. There was that small sliver of hope to look forward to if she just accepted her fate and let her body be consumed by the ravenous flames, releasing her spirit and granting her sweet freedom.

After all, what was the point of living if she had nothing to live for?

She supposed that little thought was untrue to a degree. Despite having no friends that cared for her, she still had a healthy relationship with her father despite his reputation, her desire to feed on nightmares instead of create them, and his work often preventing him from being around his one and only daughter as much as he would like to. There was also her pet dust bunny, Dustin, to think about as well; the fluffy, little animal was one of the small rays of hope in her life, as he often provided her with comfort whenever she had a particularly bad day. She could only hope that he had smelled the smoke before she had and fled as fast as his dusty, little rabbit legs could carry him.

A slight rustling of sheets caught her attention just before the loud splintering of wood and crackling filled the air and a heavy wooden beam came crashing down from the ceiling, smashing into the floor and knocking over her dresser in the process as the fire roared and increased in size when it leaped upon the extra fuel. Twyla rolled her head to the side to see Dustin, ever faithful and loyal as he was, scramble up onto the bed beside her, nudging at her limp, pale fingers with his twitching nose and furiously butting his head into her stomach in an effort to get her moving.

"Dustin . . . I'm not going anywhere . . ." she coughed, tears streaming down her face as she did so.

The little dust bunny paused in his attempt to warn his owner about the fire, sitting up on his haunches and regarding her with big, curious eyes while his nose twitched. It were almost as if he were wondering why Twyla refused to move.

Twyla shook her head. "There's no point . . ." she hacked loudly, the smoke in her lungs making it difficult to breath while she lay on her bed and out of reach of the flames for the time being. "Go . . . save yourself . . ."

Dustin nudged her hand with his head once again, holding still as Twyla responded by placing her hand on his face and giving him a comforting pat. The dust bunny tried one last time to her to move, gently gnawing on her finger like a carrot and increasing the force behind his bite until he drew a trickle of pitch black blood forth from Twyla's skin; and still the shadow ghoul refused to move. By now, she might not have even able to as she curled up on herself slightly and felt herself grow weaker and weaker.

" _Go . . ._ " Twyla rasped, pushing lightly at Dustin's head.

The dust bunny didn't budge an inch from his spot on the bed, regarding Twyla with a pair of big, pleading eyes for her to move or at least attempt to flee with him. When the shadow ghoul didn't and chose to take another rattling breath that made her tiny, frail body tremble, Dustin softly crawled over to her and gently nudged her with his nose until she weakly lifted it up to try and send him off; instead, he crawled under her and cuddled up to her chest as his eyes drooped shut and made himself comfy.

Twyla smiled sadly and laid a hand upon Dustin's head. " _Thank you . . ._ " she whispered hoarsely, her attempt to lift up her head to get a better look at her pet failing as she curled up a little tighter on herself and allowed her eyes to droop shut. Another wooden beam crashed down from the ceiling and the floor had started to give way in pieces as their supports were burned and melted by the raging fire; the flames had gotten bigger and closer to the bed, barely licking at the blankets and sheets and attempting to latch onto the bedposts. Her time was coming and she was comforted by the fact that she might have a friend to be together with on the other side once the flames got close enough. Hopefully she would finally find piece as her breaths became slower and more ragged with each attempt to fill her clouded lungs with life giving oxygen. The sweet hand of death was coming closer, one of River's relatives undoubtedly raising their scythe to separate her soul from her body while the Fates stretched her thread nice and tight, ready to severe it with their scissors. All she could hope was that her death would swift and quick, that she didn't suffer physically like she had emotionally . . .

" _Twyla!? TWYLA!?_ "

The shadow ghoul cracked her eyes open ever so slightly at the faint sound of her name. She was going crazy in her last moments of life, driven to the brink of insanity by her emotional turmoil. Maybe she would end up being one of those angry, vengeful ghosts that were granted new abilities and powers when they passed on and were given the chance to complete unfinished business they had in life so that they may finally pass on peacefully.

"Twyla!? TWYLA!?"

The voices in her head . . . they might provide her with company in the afterlife should the wandering spirits of the Underworld prove to be just as unfriendly and afraid of her as they were in unlife. Then again, they might drive her to be one of those screaming banshees that was so emotionally unstable she would be little more than a mindless beast that sought out innocent and lost souls to satisfy her endless hunger. The voices might even take on a persona and body all their own and provide Twyla with the one thing she never had . . . friends.

" _ **TWYLA!**_ "

The door to her bedroom was suddenly blown off its hinges by a blast of hot fire, incinerating a majority of it and letting whatever was left fall carelessly to the floor where it was then quickly consumed by the fire snaking its way across the floor. Twyla hugged Dustin a tad closer to her chest and struggled to lift her head up far enough to look over her shoulder to see what the cause of the phenomenon had been, giving up on it when she could barely even keep her own eyes from reflexively resting shut. The shadow ghoul then felt a pair of warm, almost boiling hot hands grab her shoulder, shaking her roughly in an attempt to wake her up, but she resisted and merely let her body go limp. She wasn't going to fight back, no, she didn't have the strength to open her eyes much less even breath. It be easier if she just let go . . . the whole living thing was overrated anyway . . .

The pairs shook her even more violently, her head bouncing lolling limply against the mattress as her eyes slipped open for the briefest of seconds, granting her a vision of whoever was trying to rouse her. It was roughly humanoid and covered in a layer of hot, molten rock that floated about on a sea of shifting magma that had been sculpted into a pair of legs tipped with a pair of talons and a set of decently muscled arms with large hands, broad shoulder pads, and a skull-like head that consumed in an ever crackling ball of fire. An odd symbol or disk that Twyla couldn't quite make out was stuck firmly on the plate of rock that functioned as the being's chest, its lower jaw moving and yelling at her in words that she couldn't quite hear or make out: a Pyronite.

And that usually meant only one thing . . .

" _Ben . . ?_ " Twyla coughed, her voice barely even a whisper as she weakly tried to fight off his hot hands. He was the last person she wanted to see in her time of passing. She only wanted to go in peace and hopefully find a better place on the other side.

"C'mon, Twyla, don't do this to me now!" Heatblast rasped, shaking her shoulders. When the shadow ghoul didn't respond, the Pyronite gave up on trying to get her permission to rescue her and hurriedly scooped her tiny, frail body up in his arms held her close to his chest with her pet dust bunny curled up between the two of them; he mentally fought as hard as he could to keep those particular parts of his hot, flaming body from igniting any part of Twyla's clothing or body and worriedly searched for a way out of the burning building. The ceiling was starting to collapse from above, several beams crashing down and crushing Twyla's bed with a tremendous roar while the floor groaned and gave away beneath his feet piece by piece until he was standing on a barely intact slab of flooring cut off from any easy way of escape.

"If you can't find an exit . . ." the Pyronite murmured to himself as he hugged Twyla closer to his body. His eyes flickered around for a second until they settled upon a section of wall that he was positive was close to the outside of the Boogie Mansion. "Bingo."

Heatblast bunched up his legs and pushed just as the floor beneath him gave way and set the flooring plunging into the sea of hot fire below with a loud roar, sending the Pyronite flying through the air as he twisted his body and hugged Twyla and Dustin closer to him so that his shoulder would take the brunt of the damage. With a loud _crash!_ and violent splintering of wood, plaster, drywall, and exterior, Heatblast went sailing through the wall and out into the open air as the bedroom and section of the house exploded in a sudden blast of heat, propelling the three of them further as Heatblast tucked in his legs and craned his head down, curling himself into a ball with Twyla and her pet at its center as they plummeted to the ground in a fiery inferno and smashed into the earth like a meteor.

None of them moved for several seconds as Heatblast panted and tried to catch his breath before he unfolded himself and let his arms and legs flop limply to the bottom of the crater they had landed in, his head lolling to the side as the Omnitrix beeped and blinked and finally timed out in a blast of green light, returning him to his human form.

"That . . . th-that was . . . insane . . ." Ben panted heavily, planting his hands on the ground and pulling himself up into a sitting position. He then turned his attention toward Twyla as she rested in his lamp, her movements limp and barely functioning as he worryingly set his head to her chest and struggled to find a heartbeat, breathing with relief when he heard a faint thumping deep within; any other attempt to get a response out of her however, was absolutely fruitless as he checked her pulse and bit his lip with concern when he found it very weak and her breathing almost nonexistent. He felt a soft nudging from his hand and turned to see Dustin looking up at him with those huge, pleading eyes before he turned and looked at Twyla with worry: Ben didn't need Jane to even translate for him.

"Come on, Omnitrix. I need something fast." Ben frowned grimly as he quickly tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before he selected Fasttrack and pressed down on the activation button, swallowing himself in a blast of green light. Light blue fur sprouted all over Ben's body in a short layer, covering him from head to toe before his arms and thighs suddenly shed every last one off of him, exposing deep, black skin beneath the blanket of fur; the black spots appeared in random places on Ben's body as his bones hollowed out and became lightweight and strong, filling with sturdy beams of sorts that supported their structure while muscles piled themselves onto his arms and legs, packing themselves particularly tight in his chest and thighs. His fingers strengthened as they grew into sharp and pointed claws with a loud cracking noise like that of splintering wood. A long, feline-like tail with a black tip arched out from the base of his spine, cracking back and forth with anticipation as his toes molded together into a pair of sturdy paws while his ears became sharp and pointed like a cat's, rotating to the top of his head as if they were floating on liquid metal; a handful of whiskers sprouted on Ben's face as his teeth cracked and ground into sharp canines. The final piece of the transformation was the addition of a black and green track suit, a pair of green-tinted goggles, and the Omnitrix at the centerof the belt around his waist.

Fasttrack sighed with relief as he glanced over himself and quickly climbed to his feet, hugging Twyla and Dustin close to his chest and sped off in a black and blue blur, making a mental note to call the fire department on the way to prevent the rest of Twyla's house from burning down. "Ra, hear my plea . . ." he whispered to himself as he ran, his gaze flickering every now and again back down to the tiny, frail, pale-skinned girl in his arms.

* * *

 _Beep. Beep._

 _Beep. Beep._

 _Beep. Beep._

The sound was driving him absolutely nuts as Ben sat on the edge of Twyla's bed, his gaze never tearing away from her figure as she rested. She looked so tiny and helpless, so fragile and delicate just lying there under the covers of the hospital bed provided for her wrapped in a gown with an oxygen mask placed over her face to help her breath better as she rested. The doctors had told him that she had suffered from smoke inhalation and would have trouble breathing for several days afterwards, but would otherwise be fine provided she didn't partake in strenuous activities and rested as much as possible. Her father had been informed about the mysterious house that had claimed his house and had nearly taken Twyla as well had Ben not noticed that there was an excess amount of smoke in the air while he was out on patrol; the Boogeyman had initially been enraged at how much it was going to cost him to repair his home, but he was concerned about his daughter's condition and more than relieved that she had not been taken away from him by the flames.

Ben was just as grateful that he had managed to rescue Twyla from the fire as well, and not just because his role as a hero prevented him from allowing innocent civilians from dying if he could help it. He knew very little about the shadow ghoul, and had only managed to see fleeting glimpses of him as she passed through the shadows while sometimes watching him when she thought he didn't notice her; he was actually more observant than people gave him credit for.

Admittedly, he hadn't suspected that her interest in him had been far deeper than he could have imagined, but the more he thought about it, the more obvious it was; the way she was always fumbling all over her words or shying away from him more than usual were hints, and her reaction when the two of them had touched hands in Mad Science should have been a clear sign that something was up, and he had been too clueless to notice.

If only he had known it sooner.

He definitely felt the spark of an interest in her, much like how he had felt about his former girlfriend Julie Yamamoto when they had first met during that fateful day on the soccer field, but this flickering flame inside of him felt stronger somehow, like a slightly bigger candle just waiting to grow into a forest fire of feelings and emotions he didn't know how to express (as if there wasn't enough fire already).

Ben reached out and carefully grasped the tips of Twyla's tiny fingers in his calloused hands, feeling the smooth, silvery skin in his palm and marveling at their touch. The sound of scampering feet briefly drew his attention down to the floor where Dustin sat for the briefest of moments before he attempted to jump up onto the bed for several seconds, always just out of reach every time he jumped until Ben took pity on the poor dust bunny and stretched his leg out. The dusty little lagomorph saw the open opportunity and quickly scampered his way up Ben's like a ramp, hopping carefully across the bed where he sniffed Twyla's arm and settled down at her side, being careful not to bump into any equipment as he did so.

"Man, I'm a moron." Ben sighed to himself.

A change of breaths caught his attention and he whipped his head around to see Twyla move the slightest of movements, her fingers shifting and her eyes twitching every few seconds before they slowly, sickly blinked open and starred up at the ceiling with a blank expression, as if she didn't understand who she was or where she was or what had happened. A hoarse groan escaped her lips as she attempted to sit herself up, giving up after only a second of trying and failing to even move her arms; she felt _so_ tired and exhausted, words couldn't even describe how jaded she was or how weak she felt. Ben quickly pulled back the oxygen mask strapped to her face long enough for him to slip a cup of hastily gathered water to her lips and give her a drink to quench her burning throat before he settled himself back on the bed and set the oxygen mask back down so it could continue its work.

" _Ben . . ._ " Twyla croaked feebly.

He was immediately by her side, his head crouched low so that he could hear her. "What is it, Twyla?"

" _Where . . . am I?_ " she groaned tiredly.

"Your in the hospital," Ben quickly explained. "Your lungs were full of smoke . . . your house caught fire . . ."

Twyla nodded ever so slightly, unable to afford to spend much more energy. Just staying awake was a task on itself.

Ben continued. "Your dad's been informed. He's on his way as soon as possible." he added.

" _Tokyo . . . it will be . . . awhile . . ._ " Twyla responded hoarsely.

Ben allowed a small smile to cross his face. "Then I'll just have to watch you until he comes. Even then . . . I wouldn't mind seeing you afterward . . ."

Twyla was greatly confused by this, and not just because the smoke and the sedatives were making her thoughts clouded and fuzzy. " _Why . . ?_ " she asked, pleading to no the answer; she attempted to get up again, but Ben gently grabbed her shoulders and held her down until she stopped fighting him and let her muscles go slack.

"Because I like you," Ben told the shadow ghoul in a slow tone to make sure her muddled mind caught everything he said. "You might think you're not worth my time or that you're not worthy of me of some other kind of nonsense, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. You might not think your beautiful or that you're not attractive, but I think that you're the most gore-geous ghoul I've ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. You might think that your repulsive or that your dark nature repels everyone away from you, but I couldn't be more attracted to you even if I tried."

" _Ben . . ._ " Twyla moaned.

Ben placed his hand upon hers and gave her fingers a light squeeze of comfort. "I don't know what I'm feeling, Twyla, and I'm not sure if you feel the same way either . . . but I think I love you . . . I don't know. It's been a while." he admitted awkwardly. "If anything, I don't deserve _you_." he chuckled.

Twyla was taken aback by this, shocked by it even. _Ben_ had feelings for _her_? Her mind so confused, wondering why if he loved her why he had stood her up outside of the movies, wondering why if he loved her he hadn't shown up for hours on end, wondering why if he loved her he had stood her up for an emotional heartbreak. Twyla's mind was reeling, absolutely stunned by the confession while her thoughts were ringing out _why? Why? Why? Why?_

The shadow ghoul sucked in a deep breath of oxygen, her chest tightening up slightly as she did so. " _But . . . the movies . . . you never . . . came . . ._ " she rasped hoarsely.

Now it was Ben's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

" _The note . . . I gave . . ._ " Twyla breathed.

Ben shook his head, absolutely baffled. "You never gave me a note."

" _But . . . your note . . ._ " Twyla pressed on.

The wielder of the Omnitrix shook his head a second time. "I never gave you a note."

Twyla was both confused and slightly relieved. So he _hadn't_ intentionally stood her up, it was just simply because he hadn't even known that she had attempted to ask him out, which was somewhat of a relief despite the fact it only made her head hurt even more. If he hadn't gotten her note, then what happened to it? She had slipped the note too far into his locker for it to fall out provided Manny Taur hadn't crashed into it when chasing after the nearest red object, so that meant it had to have been taken from Ben's locker before he arrived there to find it.

" _Who . . ?_ " Twyla rasped, attempting to form a question with her lips and burning throat when a loud, vibrating sound cut her off, briefly confusing the two of them before Ben realized that it was his phone going off. The wielder of the Omnitrix quickly pulled it out of his pocket and answered it, jerking his head back with surprise when he was met with the sinister glare of Amanita Nightshade, a look so cold and harsh that would have sent even Medusa slithering for the hills as fast as possible.

The plant-monster ghoul hissed venomously. "Where are you!?" she demanded.

Ben coughed awkwardly. "Chill, Amanita. I'm at the hospital with Twyla."

"The shadow brat?" Amanita barely held back her anger as she clenched her fists tighter, digging her perfectly manicured nails into her palms. Her forgery had failed! _Why_ had her forgery failed!?

"Uh . . . yeah?" Ben raised an eyebrow as Twyla shifted her fingers every so slightly at the insult.

" _Why!?_ Don't you know that I'm _far_ more important than that pathetic waste of space?" Amanita demanded sourly, narrowing her eyes as if she were daring him to disagree with her. "I need you here, _now!_ Who else is going to get people to look at me and admire my beautiful appearance? Get over here now and ditch that useless pile of garbage!"

It was then that Ben realized something, mentally slapping himself for not realizing it before. The moment he had stepped foot in Monster High, Amanita had latched onto him like a parasitic leech and went wherever he went regardless of whether it benefited her or not. At first he thought she was trying to be friendly and welcome him into a more relaxing atmosphere that wouldn't yield fearful whispers and harsh rumors from his human classmates, that she genuinely cared for his well being and liked to be around him. He couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed the way groaned and sighed with boredom whenever she went with him to his sport practices or the way she angrily tugged on his arms whenever he attempted to play a game of chess with Ghoulia any time outside of the Study Howl he had but she didn't attend. He couldn't believe how oblivious he was to way she snarled and growled possessively at anyone ranging from nameless ghouls that giggled flirtatiously whenever they saw him or his fellow teammates that attempted to approach him. And the way she talked about all his friends and anyone else around her in such a negative tone and yet talked about herself so highly . . . why hadn't he realized it sooner!?

"You know what, Amanita?" Ben narrowed his eyes in return. "No."

The plant ghoul's eyes widened at the sound of that fateful word, her expression turning poisonous as she rounded on Ben. "What?" she snarled.

"No." Ben repeated, his face splitting into a smirk.

" _Excuse me!?_ "

"You heard me," Ben responded. "I'm sick and tired of your gigantic ego. I'm not some kind of pet for you to give commands to or some kind of shiny jewelry for you to wear to gain yourself more attention, and above all I've had it up to here with your negative talk about everyone other than yourself! You're the worst ghoul I've ever met! Even Cleo's sister is a hundred times better than you, and I should know: she tried to everyone in Monster High against me! But did you listen or care?"

"Yes." Amanita frowned.

Ben rolled his eyes. "You're first response was, and I quote, 'Now I'll never be popular!', unquote." he imitated the plant-monster ghoul's voice in a mocking tone that made Twyla smile, especially when she caught sight of the furious look on Amanita's face.

The corrupt seedling however, had one more ace up her sleeve. "Without me you're nothing!" she tried. "We're the alpha couple of Monster High! No one questions our authority! We rule the school! You'd really give all that up for that _shadow slut piece of shit!?_ "

Ben's glare turned sinister as he brought the phone so that it was than an inch away from his face, filling up the entire screen on Amanita's screen so that she could only seen the way his eye narrowed in a threatening manner. " _Amanita. Rafflesia. Nightshade._ " he hissed angrily like a hungry Komodo dragon that had just about enough waiting for a chance to eat. "You have exactly _three_ seconds to hang up before I turn into Toepick."

"But what about-"

Ben quickly cut her off. "Three seconds, Amanita, take it or leave it. Either way, I'm staying with Twyla whether you like it or not, and for once I don't give a crap about whether you do like it. Because if you can't seem to think about anyone else than your greedy, selfish, self-absorbed self, then I could care less about what happens to people like you." he frowned. "Oh, and one more thing: we never were and _never will be_ a couple. Not even if were the last people on Earth!"

Amanita gnashed her teeth angrily, digging her claws so deep into her palms that sap was starting to trickle forth from her hands while her face turned a violent shade of red. " _FINE!_ " she yelled in defiance. "I don't need you!" she screamed before she viciously hung up on Ben, the screen turning a pitch black in color, though whether Amanita had destroyed her phone out of anger or not was up to debate.

The two of them, Twyla and Ben with Dustin curled up by his owner's side, sat there in silence for several minutes, slightly taken aback by Amanita's temper before one of them eventually spoke up. "You know, something tells me that Amanita was the one that set this whole thing up . . ." Ben mused with suspicion.

" _Maybe . . ._ " Twyla nodded, her fingers tightening around Ben's hand. " _Are we . . ?_ "

Ben chuckled and brushed a lock of brown hair out of his face with a light tinge of red to his face. "We could start tomorrow when you're more rested, if you want. Perhaps even go to an actually movie together? Or maybe you just want to start off with a small coffee date at the Coffin Bean? My treat?" he added with a slight laugh that made drew a slight giggle from Twyla that steadily grew into a hacking coughing fit that was wet and absolutely horrible sounding, making her thrash about uncontrollably for several seconds while Ben held her down until she was calm once more; he gave a couple of minutes to recover and get her breath back before he spoke again.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." he said before he leaned up and gave a short, sweet kiss to her forehead. "Get some rest. I'll be here if you need anything." Ben promised, his voice fading away from her senses as she fell back into unconsciousness out of exhaustion; the effort to even talk or respond to common social cues took much her quickly declining, leaving her greatly weary and prostrated as her vision started to darken and swim before her very eyes.

The shadows provided warmth.

The shadows provided security.

The shadows provided comfort.

But now, with a smile upon her lips as she fell into slumber, the shadows no longer felt so lonely.

* * *

 **And there it is!**

 **' _Ugh, so boring! So cheesy! Somebody put me outta my misery!'_**

 _ **Wade! Put that gun down!**_

 _ **'What? I'm already dying of cheesiness factor to this chapter! I might as well make my death swift and quick!'**_

 **Ignoring what our _unwanted roommate_ spews out of his mouth (it's mostly garbage anyway), I've been thinking as of lately-**

 _ **'Really, Four-Eyes?'**_

 **Do you have an off switch?**

 _ **'Yeah, it's right next to the prostate! Or is that the on switch- GAH! Get it off! Get it off! Burn it with fire! Kill it!'**_

 **For once, I'm actually happy to see that thing.**

 _ **Mr. Nibbles, no! Stop trying to eat Deadpool's face off! He needs that!**_

 _ **'Like /censored/ I do! How else am I supposed to eat chimichangas and reel in the ladies!? OW! GAH! AAAAAAAGH!'**_

 **Aaaaaaaaanyway, I was thinking that I have multiple continuations of the various one-shots I've shown so far locked away in a vault in my head just itching to get out, but I can't do that unless you guys vote them. So I was wondering if I should do 'seasons' of this series. Basically, every twenty ghouls or so, you'll be given the opportunity to vote for one of the previously written ghouls to be featured in a second and even third installment if that specific one-shot calls for it or if you guys want it. You'll notice that a few chapters were left at cliff hangers, signaling future chapters, so . . . yeah.**

 **Once a 'season' has ended, the full list of ghouls will be brought back, minus the ones that have already been written about, and the cycle continues again. I'll only be writing one-shots using ghouls from the start of Monster High up to _Great Scarrier Reef_ , so there will inevitably be an end to this series. Think of it as making it longer! Either way, it's all up to you.**

 **A poll will be set up to settle the matter, and once that's been solved and a chapter to my main story has been posted, a list of all the available ghouls will be available; it's up to whether it's the full list or reduced list!**

 **On a second note, I feel like some of my one-shots have not been . . . up to par with some of my other works, including some of my one-shots, especially if I look back over them. I of course, only want what's best for my readers and, since I'm already working on rehashing and rewriting WAM in better context (literally follows the same flow and plot, but with better and improved wording), I'm wondering if I shouldn't do that same for some of my one-shots. I'll leave that up for you guys to decide as well.**

 **I think that just about covers it! Honestly, I think I'm forgetting something . . . ugh, I hate it when things are the tip of my tongue and I lose them.**

 _ **'You know what else I hate? Losing my tongue to some alien monster!'**_

 **Quiet, you. You have a healing factor for crying out loud. As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!  
**

 **Hasta Luego!  
**

 _ **'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH! It's so bitey!'**_

 _ **No, Mr. Nibbles! Stop trying to eat Deadpool's eyeball!**_

 **This day just keeps getting better and better.**


	22. Law of the Jungle 2

_**Hooh-ohh-ook! Ahh-ooh-ah!**_ **Welcome back one and all to another chapter of** ** _Cupid's Crystal Ball!_ Unlike last time however, I would like to remind everyone that this will be the second installment of season one, as you all highly requested. This means that no new ghouls will be available for selection until each ghoul of the previous chapters has had exactly three chapters dedicated to them and the Omniverse's greatest hero.**

 **But before we-**

 _ **And by 'we' he means him and Maddie!**_

 **Yes, by 'we' I mean Maddie and I. As I was saying, before we begin, I believe we have some reviews to answer, am I correct?**

 _ **Yeppers! Onward!**_

 **Aaaaaaaand she's stealing my catchphrase again. _Nice._**

 _ **I know, right? Wheee!**_

 ** _masterart –_ As I'm sure you've noticed, there _is_ a new chapter of OUAT up and available for all to read, so yes!**

 _ **Numbervania –**_ **Amanita's chapter is something of a unique case, as I want to try and portray Ben differently than usual but not portray him as a villain like I did for Toralei's chapter (which was actually quite fun, now that I think about it). And yes, Ursa Lycanthrope Major is meant to be a nod towards the somewhat lesser known werebear species.**

 **Unlike werewolves (assuming they are in a permanent transformation like MH), werebears are somewhat solitary creatures and only come together to form families, of which in the wild usually only consists of the mother and cubs after the male has left after mating. For a few years the cubs bear remarkable resemblance to human children, albeit with quite a bit more body hair; as they grow however, they become bigger, stronger, hairier, and more animalistic in appearance until they are almost a perfect blend of human and bear, complete with a set of opposable thumbs as well.**

 **Behavior wise, most werebears are actually quite relaxed and love spending the day lounging around and playing and eating, much like Baloo from the Jungle Book; they are less lazy and more working when winter arrives however (depending on their climate as werebears of every bear species can be found all over the world). And while usually laid back, they are very protective of their cubs and the occasional abandoned human child they might adopt and there is almost nothing worse than an aggravated werebear.**

 **Like their animal relatives, most werebears are omnivorous and will take advantage of a multitude of food sources, ranging from bugs and grubs to wild fruits and berries, fish, honey (they _love_ honey), and even carrion or prey they've managed to bring down themselves. Only were-polar bears are completely carnivorous and feed on wild seals and whales, much like the Inuit.**

 **Werebears also tend to develop their culture around whatever is closest in the area and are very slow to change and catch up with the times; there are werepandas in China that still meditate like monks and have emperors as rulers over their small communities (Kung Fu Panda, eat your heart out). Hope that explains things!**

 **I can assure you that the crystal ball is actually quite durable and could survive quite a few bumps and bruises before finally breaking (it's about as tough as a dragon egg, which are heavily armored and resistant to stress. So much so that the mothers actually have to break their hatchlings out of the eggs when it's time to hatch). And in case you didn't catch it, this entire story is basically a somewhat more happy-ending parody to the Danny Phantom villain, Ember, who suffered the same way Twyla did but never made it out of the burning house alive. Sphinx, even the title is named after her most famous song!**

 _ **Guest –**_ **I have been thinking about something with Nefera, but until she wins a majority vote I can't do anything.**

 _ **Oh, but you can do something!**_

 **Like what?**

 ** _Have tea with me, that's what, silly!_**

 **Maybe later? Like, after we're done here?**

 ** _Alrighty! I'll go set up my tea kettle!_**

 **Anywho . . .**

 _ **Menatron the Angel of Ideas –**_ **If someone else were to write this crossover idea of yours (I could certainly endorse and pass it on), I think I might take a look into it. As for the other half of your review, I do see some actual good buried somewhere deep within Nefera's black soul, but not so much in Amanita's If you can somehow let me know what that good might be, it would be** ** _very_ helpful to me.**

 _ **Marshman101 –**_ **Yes, Deadpool can regrow his face.**

 _ **'These jerks just won't let me do it!'**_

 _ **Deadpool, when was the last time you actually took off your mask?**_

 _ **'Fair point. Hah! Get it? 'cause I got swords?'**_

 **We get it. As for Manny and Jackson, it was more of a crack pairing that has some potential (I've seen a few stories around here on this site) and the Clawdeen x Isi pairing was something I stumbled upon on Tumblr that I absolutely adore and think is totally plausible if Mattel would ever consider making lesbian couples; seriously, more than three-quarters of the cast are females, at least two of them have to be homosexual.**

 _ **maverickmoxey2000 –**_ **If I were a monster (instead of a Tetramand, mind you) I'd probably want to be a Naga, Arachnisapien, or plant-monster. What can I say, I have an affinity for reptiles and creepy-crawlies. My problem back when I was human was . . . well, lets just say I had some behavioral problems of the bizarre and weird kind. It was mostly fixed up until my death, but ever now and again it would just come back out whenever my fuse was lit and came to an end. I'm actually pretty happy with where the one-shots you listed ended up and where they can possibly lead, though the Robecca one might need some rewriting; it mostly came a whim that Robecca's never felt/seen an actual body like the one that she's modeled off of and it just went from there.**

 _ **Darkness Rissing – 'Why thank you! At least some of these /censored/ have some taste in culture.**_

 **Easy on the swearing, Wade. I know from experience that reviewers can be _quite_ vengeful when they want and or need to be. I wouldn't put it past him to somehow get crabs into your boxers . . . again.**

 _ **'That was a complete conicidence and you know it!'**_

 _ **Nope! It was me, ha ha!**_

 _ **'WHAT!?'**_

 **Moving on . . . Deadpool stopping chasing Maddie. Act your age.**

 _ **'How come she gets to act like a /censored/ kid!?**_

 **Because she's Maddie. _Moving on . . ._**

 ** _ThatChronicKid –_ I actually have a fairly decent and cool idea for Catty and Ben, but until someone votes for her after season one is over, all four of my hands are tied!**

 _ **Morantis –**_ **Careful, not all stories can be high school cliches XD Anyway, I've been tossing around a few ideas for Draculaura's second chapter, most of which either involve a return of Valentine (evil version) or a visit from the Wolf family, both of don't go really go anywhere. If you have an idea or two, mind casting me a line? I'm drowning in writer's block here and Deadpool keeps handing me anchors . . .** ** _very, very, very_ heavy anchors.**

 _ **'Would you prefer cruise ships, Four-Eyes?'**_

 **You couldn't even lift them!**

 _ **'Touche.'**_

 _ **Malchior the Bad –**_ **I will not be including any aliens from other author's pieces of written work (aliens on Deviantart after asking the artist are fair game), but I'll see what I can do with the alien Roadhog. If you don't know what he looks like, I suggest giving him a look. Once the 'season' is over with (I might just do away with that entirely as well) and if she's voted for, Nefera will be selected to be Ben's ghoulfriend, though whether I want to try a one-shot where she's her canon self or her redeemed self is up to debate.**

 _ **CrissCrossover –**_ **Any and all potential Ever After High one-shots will get their own series that will be posted** ** _after_ OUAT has been concluded and finished, which most likely won't be for some time. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to here them for future reference.**

 _ **DRAGONDAVE45 –**_ **First off, let me congratulate you on your Fire Breather and Monster High crossover story, it's really good and I can see it becoming a big hit in the future! Second – and I'm pretty sure we discussed through review but I'll answer it anyway – the universe in which Ben and Lagoona's one-shot together is a universe where Lagoona and Gil never got together and Gil instead fell in love for Lorna (who also insists on chasing after him or Ben whenever her cycle hits). Undoubtedly however, the cycle will be involved for Lagoona's lemon chapter,** ** _heh-heh-heh_ , along with a little extra susprise . . .**

 **Avea and Catty Noir will have to wait for the next 'season' and even then it will depend on the people's votes. So vote often and vote hard, peoples!**

 _ **Alan Sanders**_ **– I'm glad you think so. I actually based Twyla's chapter off of the back story behind Ember from the hit and critically acclaimed cartoon series,** ** _Danny Phantom_. In fact, the title of the chapter is even a reference to Ember's theme song, or at least the one that she plays the most. I thought she definitely fit Twyla's personality – at least before she became a vengeful ghost – so here we are now! **

_**Kaiju Fan –**_ **Believe me, I wanted to save Twyla's story for until Raven could come onto the scene, but the audience wants what the audience wants! Perhaps next time? I'm crossing all . . . eight of my fingers! As for development outside of the story, there is a slight plot to things, but the majority of the focus is on the one-shots themselves, so until I somehow manage to finish every single last ghoul out there (I'm only doing ones up to Great Scarrier Reef), things are gonna be loco!**

 _ **Is that it?**_

 **I believe so. And now, you're probably wondering which lucky ghoul was the first to be selected for a second chapter. Well, wait no more, because this chapter's ghoul is . . .**

 **Jane Boolittle!**

 **Yeah, that came out of left field for me, too. Oh, well, what the majority wants, the majority gets!**

 _ **'Like I didn't see that coming.'**_

 **Shut up, Wade.**

 _ **'Make me!'**_

 _ **Anywhoozle, as always, comment, review, suggest and request down below! Leave us your ideas and thoughts and we'll be back to you as soon as possible!**_

 **Great! Now she's stealing the rest of my lines, too! What's she gonna steal next, my account!?**

 _ **Nope! Try this ! *smooch***_

 **Did you just . . .**

 _ **Yeppers! And there's plenty more where that came from, too!**_

 **As they say in Holland, onward!  
**

 _ **'People in Holland don't say that, Four-Eyes.'**_

 **Not listening, Wade!**

* * *

 _ **BRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNG!**_

Jane startled awake, blinking blearily at her surroundings while her ears stressed to find the source of the horrible noise that had rested her from her slumber. With a moan she flopped onto her back and gave a wide yawn, like she had seen the big cats of her jungle home do numerous times after they had woken up from a heavy nap with tongues hanging out, jaws wide open, and all four, pointed canine exposed for a threatening expression.

The jungle ghoul blindly patted around for the source of the sound, her mind only half awake and working as her fingers touched the wooden edge of her nightstand and crawled along its edge until they grazed the rim of her iCoffin. She made a move to grab it, groaning with annoyance when the device fell from the table and onto the floor with a loud clatter, still blaring its nosy alarm for her to hear. With a sigh Jane rolled over onto her stomach – unwilling to get out of her comfy nest of blankets, pillows, and sheets she had created – and patted around on the floor until she finally found her iCoffin buried in the carpet below.

Triumphant, she quickly closed her fingers around the device like she had seen various birds of prey do to unwary prey and brought it up to her face. Jane's mind stopped working then as technology was greatly foreign to her; the most complex machine she could operate without failure was one of the portable stoves her adoptive parents had brought with them on their research mission, even though she had managed to make a few calls on the research station's radio transmitter without assistance a few times.

Granted she had more than once accidentally dialed a wrong number in Fanghai or Goreway and had to make it sound like someone's exotic pet monkey had been messing around with the phone, but that was beside the point.

Her mind eventually kicked itself into gear and she managed to figure out how to turn on the iCoffin and shut off the irritating alarm that had been blaring itself in her face for the past six minutes, as if it couldn't tell she was already up and wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon. A few quick taps of her finger and the device was silent once more and placed back on her nightstand as she rolled back onto her back and starred up at the ceiling with a sigh.

"I could have sworn I had that set to bird calls." Jane mumbled to herself tiredly.

She had at first been greatly apprehensive of buying an iCoffin, much less using the small amount of money Headmistress Bloodgood had granted her for it and further dorm refurbishments, but after much insistence from Frankie and Venus she finally caved in; the final blow had been that irresistible, warm smile he had given her. His number was also the first one she had put in her contacts list and his face was her choice of background for her iCoffin's homescreen.

Jane felt a smile cross her lips as she snuggled a little deeper under the covers and closed her eyes, her body regaining a bit of that elusive warmth she had lost when her iCoffin had disturbed her. She still couldn't get over the wonders of what had happened last night, the events continuously replaying in her head; he had taken her out to a movie, and a nature documentary at that. She had at first been a little bit hesitant and nervous, as she didn't do very well in public spaces that weren't watering holes and she didn't think Ben would find the documentary as interesting as she might have.

This was quickly proven wrong when they walked into the theater, taken a pair of seats in the back row with a delicious, buttery treat he called 'popcorn' and fizzy, bubbling drinks that tickled her nose called 'soda', and found out that the nature documentary in question was actually a quite heartwarming and humorous movie about chimpanzees, specifically about a baby orphan and the alpha male that adopted him as his own.

The theater had been practically empty since the movie had first opened two weeks ago and the only other occupants had been an elderly werebear that had gone into the wrong theater, an adult couple of yetis that had taken up four seats in the front row to hold both of their hulking weight, and a teenage couple consisting of a female naga and male troll that had spent a majority of the time simply making out; Jane was pretty sure they had gone even further than that, but the funny and adorable chimpanzees swinging and hooting about on screen kept her distracted. She especially found it fun when a good fifteen minutes of the documentary had been the primates actually discussing how idiotic the camera crew was thinking that they didn't know they were being filmed and had hammed up a few of their parts for the camera.

The confused look on Ben's face had been priceless, especially when the narrator had gone into how remarkably intelligent chimpanzees were compared to humans.

If only they knew.

Jane's heart beat a little faster when she remembered those warm, strong arms around her as she had relaxed into his frame and enjoyed the movie, occasionally popping a kernel of popcorn into Ben's mouth whenever she felt like it. He was certainly a lot less demanding than that nest of baby hornbills she had once been asked to watch over while the parents took a break to preen their feathers a bit and relax. The amount of times she had scaled up and down that tree with wriggling, squirming bugs and grubs in her hands had been numerous and she was pretty sure she couldn't even count that high . . . she had lost track something around one-thousand-six-hundred-eighty-three.

The thought of seeing her false mate, or 'boyfriend' as her pack mates or 'ghoul friends' called it, was a refreshing wake up call to the jungle ghoul, much more appreciated than the sudden blast of intense noise from her phone. A pleasant smile crossed her lips as she sleepily rose from her nest of her blankets and sheets and stretched long and stiffly with a large lungful of breath to ease her into the morning. Her tangle of magenta and jungle shadow hair hung in an absolute mess like rainforest vines around her head, hot, wet, and stringy from the night's rest; this was in partial to the conditions of her dorm.

While a vast majority of Monster High's student body had families and homes to return to by the end of the school day, a fair amount of exchange students were either given room and board by the teachers that had the space for it – namely Ms. Kindergrubber – or given one of the few dorms that Monster High had littered about somewhere in its upper stories that few ever bothered to intrude upon. Jane had been granted access to such a dorm and – using the money Headmistress Bloodgood had given her – had furbished it to her liking. With a little help from Venus McFlytrap and special permission from the headmistress, she had grown herself a miniature jungle to call her own, growing a variety of rainforest plants and small trees in pots and planters situated about her room that would be moved to the school's greenhouse when they got too big. A writing desk covered in vines and creepers was placed adjacent to her bed and nightstand, most of the blankets and sheets decorated with the stripes and spots of various animals upon the suggestion of her ghoulfriends.

Satisfied that she was awake enough to not stumble into everything like an old, half-blind rhinoceros – she had actually met one back in her jungle home and he currently resided at the research station to provide support and information for the research team whenever they had questions – Jane shoved the covers of her bed off of her and touched her bare feet to the floor, shivering at the cold touch; she would have to ask the headmistress for permission to turn up the heat in the coming winter months.

With a final breath to fully wake her body (she had always been a slow riser compared to the rest of the jungle), Jane stood up and arched her back in a wide and exaggerated stretch to get all the kinks and tightened muscles out of her figure, giving her pet voodoo sloth, Needles, a good view of her bare and naked figure; the jungle had always been hot and steamy and wearing little to no clothing had been a key point in survival so as not to succumb to heatstroke, a fact that the research team she had been adopted by had to learn very quickly. Here in the safety of her dorm and away from her jungle home, she always slept in the nude out of habit, finding any nightclothing to be too uncomfortable and itchy.

"Oh, don't give me that look. You know I hate nickers." Jane chided Needles when the voodoo sloth gave a sleepy grunt from his perch in a young kapok tree. "I'd go bare all the time if possible."

Needles merely gave a alight mew as a rebuttal from his spot in the branches and curled back up to go back to sleep.

Jane rolled her eyes. "You say that every time, you know." she chuckled to herself as she headed into the small bathroom attached to her dorm. It was modest at the very least, with a simple sink, toilet, and shower stall to accommodate all her needs with the walls painted a lovely shade of jungle green with a strip of leopard print around the circumference for entertainment purposes; it hadn't originally been her idea but the ghouls that had helped her moved in were determined to leave their mark.

The jungle ghoul kept her smile as she stepped into the shower and turned it onto to a comfortable temperature, sighing with relief as the water cascaded down her naked body like the wet rain of the jungle. She had at first been unaccustomed to modern hygienic methods as what counted as cleaning back in her jungle home was mostly more for health needs than cleanliness; usually a quick roll in the mud or dust got rid of most parasites and dead skin were usually taken care of by the various monkeys and apes of her rainforest home. The closest thing to a shower she had ever experienced before was playing with the herds of elephants in the river that meandered a couple hundred yards from the research station.

Luckily for her, Venus had been kind enough to show her how to take a first proper shower and Jane was quite sure that Robecca Steam held some sort of small grudge against her for bathing with her ghoulfriend first.

Admittedly, the use of a sponge and various soaps and conditioners had taken some getting use to but she always found the end result surprisingly worth it. Jane especially liked the way she sometimes spelled like fresh blooming flowers depending on the shampoo she used and wondered if there was a scent out there that matched the wonderful aroma of mangoes, particularly ones that were peeled and dried in the sun. Those were always her favorite.

Once Jane was sure that she was clean enough she turned the steady stream of warm water off and let the remaining droplets drip off her body before she grabbed the spare towel left on the hook and dried herself off. The jungle ghoul then stepped out of the shower and took to looking at herself carefully in the mirror for any sign of deformity; if she was to properly earn Ben's approval as his mate, she had to look her very best and prove that she was a fit, healthy, and fertile female ghoul worth spending time with. He had assured her that looks were not that important to him and had actually laughed at her humorous and embarrassing attempt to correct her underdeveloped figure and impress him, but there was nothing wrong in making sure that she was free of disease and parasites.

Fortunately everything seemed to be in order and she moved onto preening and grooming herself, starting with her hair. She normally would have simply ran her fingers through it or gotten a troop of hungry baboons to look her over back in the jungle, but here she substituted both of those with a simple hairbrush she had acquired. Jane carefully ran the brush through her darkened locks and began to pull them into their usual appearance of a semi-maintained head of hair with a wild ponytail in the back to tie everything together; it was a look that had worked well in the jungle and it worked here at Monster High as well.

The jungle ghoul then moved to pull her bangs aside to finish off her signature looked immediately froze at what she saw starring back at her in the mirror: two small, pointed bumps protruding about inch out of her skull about three inches apart.

Jane didn't know what they were, but they definitely were not something that should be there to her knowledge. It had always been a mystery to her origins, having been found only as a toddler abandoned in a cave inside a small hut with nothing but an odd looking staff and her pet voodoo sloth to offer hints; there were no sign of markings, no sign of a note, no sign of any parents of any kind, just a scared and oddly curious baby that had looked upon the research team that found her with a wide smile and happy giggle.

"Oh, ghoul, what do I do?" Jane bit her lip nervously, unable to take her eyes off of the unsightly blemishes. "There's no way Ben can see this!"

A sleepy and annoyed grunt came from outside the bathroom and the jungle ghoul turned to see that her pet voodoo sloth had become active enough to climb down from his tree and crawl his way across the floor to his nosy pet. "Cover it up? Brilliant idea!" she translated.

Needles rolled his little button eyes as his pet busily rushed out of the bathroom and back into the main dorm, immediately diving into her closet and digging through her small range of clothes for her the usual outfit he dressed her up in as well as something to hide the measly little blemishes that worried her so much; in the voodoo sloth's opinion they were a trivial thing. He wondered why he bothered to even take care of a pet that was so loud and far too active for his liking, but he quickly remembered why when Jane eagerly scooped him up off the floor, gave him a warm and tight hug, and set him back on his special sleeping branch before handing him a fistful of delicious leaves and diced peaches.

 _This_ was the reason why he put up with Jane's attics. He had beautifully trained her to bring him juicy leaves and fruit whenever he was hungered and she had even figured out that it was her responsibility to clean up after him as well, a wonderfully conditioned pet indeed. Needles was surprised just how remarkably quickly she had learned from a young age, as from the moment he had been created through a voodoo process he didn't care to understand he had pegged her type to be somewhat unintelligent what with the way they bustled and busied about with worry and concern over every little thing; as far as the voodoo sloth was concerned, the only things to be worried about were finding enough food, a mate to take care of his offspring, and getting in a decent snooze every other hour or so.

Needles paused midchew to look over his pet once before she left, carefully looking over the outfit she had chosen to wear instead of the clothes he had approved for her upon coming with her to this strange, new world where everything seemed so much more confined than it should have been Jane had wrapped herself up in an oddly colored skirt that was patterned with bright hues of yellow and orange and purple and the occasional red spread out in dazzling dots and trifling triangles and zany zig-zags that made his head spin. Her top consisted of a simple blue sweatshirt with a little, wooden skull to mark the existence of the zipper underneath of a black jacket with long sleeves to cover her arms; the sweatshirt's hood was tugged up over her head, successfully shielding her deformed skull from prying eyes.

The voodoo sloth's pet had undergone an entire transformation just to hide a few bumps that had been unfortunately placed upon her forehead.

"So what do you think?" Jane asked sheepishly.

Needles grunted exactly what he thought of her and took another bite of his peaches.

The jungle huffed and folded her arms over her undeveloped bust. "Now don't be like that! This will work, I know it will! Besides, the weather is getting . . . chilly anyway. Ben won't be suspicious, right?" she asked pleadingly.

Needles rolled his button eyes. His pet's false mate would certainly be suspicious if she kept acting like she was trying to hide something and he lazily voiced this issue to her before he curled back up and went back to sleep.

Jane tried not to think about the problems in her plan her pet voodoo sloth had pointed out and opted to simply give him a quick kiss good-bye before she grabbed hold of her backpack – it had been a gift from Ben and bore remarkable resemblance to a sleeping koala – and quickly left her dorm, locking the door behind her as she quickly jogged down the hall as fast as her pumps would allow her. She wanted to get in a few minutes with her beloved boyfriend before class began.

* * *

"Dude, you are _so_ lucky."

"And why pray tell is that, Heath?" Ben asked with a deadpanned expression as he, the fire elemental, Clawd Wolf, and Deuce Gorgon sat and lounged at the base of one of the two main staircases that allowed travel between floors and classes with ease. The lobby of Monster High was quite spacious with the school emblem stenciled into a large rug laid out on the floor that was soggy and wet from the damp, autumn months; a giant grandfather clock that kept track of all thirteen hours of the day sat situated between the two staircases with a large trophy case boasting a majority of Monster High's finest accomplishments pressed against its back. Swarms of bats and wild gargoyles fluttered through the air through gaggles of ghosts and ghouls rushing to make it to their classes on time.

Ben and his friends however were in no rush for the time being. "In case you haven't noticed I have the longest biology paper in history due tomorrow and I'm not allowed to turn into Brainstorm or Grey Matter to get it done."

Heath rolled his eyes. "I'm not talking about _that_ , dude! Check out the chicks!"

The fire elemental gestured out towards the sea of monsters traversing back and forth past their small group in a maddening stampede to get to friends or classes on time, lest they incur some of more temperamental teacher's wrath – specifically Mr. Hack. Ben raised an eyebrow but did as he was told and took note of how many ghouls actually spared a glance in their direction, more accurately at him than the others. A few of them would blush intensely once they realized that Ben was looking at them while others would give sheepish smiles and friendly waves before excitedly rushing off to gossip to their beasties what had just happened; Kiyomi Haunterly however, opted to swiftly disappear in a flash of intense light followed by a bright bang that made several other students jump.

Ben turned back to Heath. "And your point?"

"They're practically eating out of your hand, bro!" he exclaimed, not quite understanding how one of his beast friends and video game buddies could not see the advantage practically presented before him on a silver platter.

Deuce chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck where the vibrant green scales of his scalp tapered away to his smooth, tanned skin. "Dude's got a point, man."

"I'm not following." Ben shook his head.

Heath slapped his forehead in exasperation and looked like he was going to suddenly scream with how idiotic the wielder of the Omnitrix was being before Clawd coughed roughly and elbowed him in the ribs. "What I think Heath is _trying_ to say, dude, is that you're prime meat. Practically every ghoul here likes you to some degree and a somewhat smaller number actually have a crush on you. Draculaura sees it all the time." he added when he was met with a skeptical look.

"And that makes me lucky how?" Ben asked.

Clawd quickly cuffed Heath on the back of the head before the fire elemental said something that was considerably more stupid than what he usually babbled. "You get to have best pick of the stock, man. Any ghoul you want and they're yours!" he pointed out.

"That seems kinda abusive." the wielder of the Omnitrix shook his head with disapproval. "Taking advantage of a ghoul's trust and feelings like that."

"It _is._ " Deuce irritably elbowed Clawd and Heath in the ribs, the former of which grinned sheepishly with his ears pinned back like a disciplined puppy. "Not only is it _very_ rude _and_ selfish, but there's nothing worse than a ghoul crying over the fact that they were dumped for someone with a bigger rack than them."

Heath shook his head. "Coming from you, Mr. Bandage Stripper, that's a bit preachy."

Deuce narrowed his eyes from behind his dark shades and tightly clenched his left fist, bring it up threateningly to Heath's face. "Talk about my ghoul, Cleo, like that again and my mom is going to have a new lawn ornament faster than you can ever hope to scream. Besides, my mom raised me to be a gentlemen, and gentlemen don't take advantage of love struck ghouls."

"Amen, brother." Ben high-fived the gorgon.

Heath however, was not letting the conversation drop that quickly. "Oh, come on! You seriously aren't tempted to get an upgrade?"

Ben shook his head. "Nope. I'm perfectly happy my ghoul for who she is, thank you very much. You saying you'd rather have someone else than Abbey?"

"No, way, dude! Have you _seen_ her?" Heath grinned wildly. "She's gore-geous! Those eyes! Those lips! That ass! And have you seen-" he was abruptly cut off when a firm hand grabbed him by the back of his Letterman's jacket and yanked him up a good portion of the steps before lifting him high into the air; the fire elemental could hear his friends farther down the steps laughing their guts out as he came face-to-face with the iciest, coldest expression he could ever encounter and felt a shiver travel up his spine as he did so.

Heath swallowed the lump in his throat. "Oh, uh, h-hey, Abbey. Um, what's up, ghoul?"

"We have much to discuss." the yeti narrowed her eyes and growled lowly. Before Heath could attempt to escape however, Abbey suddenly lunged forward and took his lips in his, giving him a passionate and deep kiss that lasted far longer than it should have. Eventually she finally released the fire elemental from his liplock with a small puff of steam as a result and proceeded to drag her stunned boyfriend farther down the hall where she would no doubt be giving him a piece of her mind.

Ben watched them go, a slight smirk crawling across his face while Abbey dragged Heath around a corner and out of sight. To say the yeti and fire elemental's relationship was complicated was an understatement, especially when one took into consideration how much their respective elements and personalities clashed. Any techniques that might have worked on the average ghoul fell on Abbey's deaf ears and she absolutely detested it when he called her pet names that would normally make the average ghoul blush and giggle. She was by far the strongest ghoul in the entire school and regularly arm wrestled Manny Taur without difficulty, something that she was not afraid to exploit if Heath stepped out of line.

And yet, that seemed to be exactly what turned her on. It confused the Hades out of Ben, but it seemed the more Heath continued to irritate her and blatantly ignore the rules she strictly enforced – except the pet name thing, there seemed to be no exception to that – the more she seemed to like him. Likewise, the more Abbey seemed to manhandle him and remind him exactly what he was dealing with, the more persistent he was in wooing her and making her his. It was an odd cycle of affection and hate that was almost as interesting as any of the soap operas or reality shows that Draculaura watched almost religiously . . . almost. Sometimes the two of them were so overcome with emotion and the usual rush of teenage hormones that they simply just broke down into a surprise make out session that generally made everyone uncomfortable, even those that were already a couple.

"You think we'll ever see Heath alive?" Deuce joked.

Ben snickered. "Alive, no. Snapped in half and covered in bruises, yes."

Clawd shook his head with a slight grin to his fangs before turning to Ben with a serious look in his eyes that said he was done with cracking jokes at others' expense and was about to say something important. "But seriously, dude . . . you're sticking with Jane?"

Ben's expression darkened slightly as he dropped the easy-going attitude. "Believe me when I say I've had my own problems with girls, Clawd." he frowned as a memory came back to him. "I once had this huge crush on this girl I met during my summer vacation with my grandpa back when I was ten . . . I was kinda going through . . . _puberty_ , is what I guess you could call it, and we all thought I was turning into a werewolf. Turns out I wasn't and it was just a glitch on the Omnitrix, but the whole time I thought she was starting to feel the same way I felt about her, so I told her how I felt . . ."

"And . . ?" Deuce pressed, intrigued.

Ben gritted his teeth and tightened his hands into fists. "She didn't feel the same. She thought I was a _real_ werewolf, not some ten-year old kid who could turn into aliens . . . she wanted to turn me into a pet . . ."

The two man-sters winced when they caught sight of the cold mask that Ben had plastered on his face. It was always hard talking about Kai to others, confessing the events that had transpired when his first love had rejected him. He had had many others with other girls of much better personality and quality and he had many fond memories with them as well – he even kept in close contact with a couple of them – but he had never been able to get over the heartbreak that Kai Green had cast upon him. It was from that day Ben had taken a silent vow to never let a girl ever be crushed the way he had and it was a key component as to why he wasn't going to part with his sweet jungle ghoul anytime soon.

"I'll dump her over my own dead body." Ben finally gave an answer to Clawd's question.

The werewolf whistled in admiration. "That's deep, man."

"You'd do the same for Draculaura, dude." Deuce pointed. "I'd do it for my ghoul, Cleo, anytime."

While his two friends lightly bickered among themselves, Ben couldn't help but let his thoughts wander back to the events of last night, a special date between him and his sweet jungle ghoul. It hadn't really been anything special, just a simple date to the movies with his ghoul dressed in nothing really fancy. They had of course, gotten spruced up a bit from their usual, school outfits with him coming in his sweatshirt hoodie and Jane coming in a bright red skirt and black flora top with her hair combed straight and down for an added affect that only seemed to highlight her beauty even more.

The movie had been worthwhile, even though he hadn't quite fully understood why the jungle ghoul burst out laughing every now and again at seemingly calm moments in the documentary, but they had enjoyed it nonetheless. Ben loved how she had leaned into his warm embrace and her tender touch was something beyond words he knew to even hope to describe; she was a rare jungle flower whose beauty could not be described and whose kind personality and shy demeanor pushed all the right buttons in his book and made him want to make her his. She had even fed him popcorn!

The first chance he got after graduating from Monster High, he was going to buy her a ring and ask her to be his. No exceptions, no delays if he could help it.

Ben perked up when he heard Jane's familiar gait on the stairs above and turned around from where he sat to smile widely as his Sweet Mango bounced down the staircase with the eager and anxious demeanor she was known for; excited to learn but a little shy around the edges, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Jane quickly marched down the staircase with excitement, eager to see her beloved boyfriend before the chore of classes were to take place. "Ben!" she waved happily.

"There's my Sweet Mango!" Ben smiled broadly as he stood up with arms spread wide open for a hug. The jungle ghoul was all too eager to feel those strong arms embrace her and quickly doubled her speed down the stairs to reach him; unfortunately, she misjudged the next step in front of her and she swiftly stumbled forward, tumbling down the stairs with a loud yelp of fright. Jane could see Ben's face instantly pale as she fell towards him and collided with his body without warning, sending the two of them falling down the rest of the stairs to land roughly on the floor in a slight daze.

Jane sat up slightly with a hiss, rubbing her throbbing skull as she did so – particularly around the edges of the unusual bumps on her head – and tried to figure out what had happened. She had obvious fell, that much was obvious, but where was Ben?

" _Ahem._ "

The jungle ghoul got her answer very quickly as she glanced down with an intense blush on her face to see Ben laying on his back beneath her, easily supporting her entire weight and frame on his body as she lay on his chest. It was a very intimate and suggestive position and Jane could already feel some of the intense glares sent in her direction drill their way into the back of her head; no doubt some ghouls were still jealous that she had managed to lay claim to Ben first before them. Alone she had tried to ignore them as best as possible, but with Ben she hardly noticed them as she quickly scrambled off of Ben and pretended to not notice the playful looks on his friend's places.

"Hey, Tennyson! Didn't know you were that far yet!" Manny teased as he strode by with his ghoulfriend, Iris Clops, hanging off his heavily muscled arm while he carried her books for her. "What is that, second base? Third?" he chortled before Iris jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and tugged him off with a nervous expression on her boyfriend's face; it seemed Heath wasn't the only one in need of some mannerisms.

Jane flushed an even deeper shade of red at those words, instinctively leaning into the warm embrace that Ben curled around to ease her embarrassment. She sighed happily as he pulled her close and pulled her into a tight hug that she relaxed at. He did question her sudden change in attire as she usually wore the same outfit every day, owning a few copies like he owned multiple duplicates of his signature black and green T-shirt, but with the coming winter months he didn't push it too much; he merely shrugged it off as his ghoulfriend adjusting to the cool climate that was far different than the hot jungles she was use to. "Weather getting too nippy for you?" he joked.

The jungle ghoul swallowed nervously and desperately tried to act normal. "Um, yes, that is it. _Brrrrrr_ , it is very cold up in my dorm. I don't know how Needles deals with it!"

"He's made of cloth and stuffing. I think I have a pretty good idea." Ben chuckled, buying the excuse to suddenly wrap herself from head to toe much to Jane's relief. Thankfully and unfortunately depending on how the jungle ghoul looked at it however, the bell mercifully rang loud and true in her ears before Ben could press the subject further; had the bell always been this loud? She hadn't realized it until now and it was absolutely deafening in her sensitive ears. Had they always been this sensitive to sound? She was easily able to clearly make out the whoops and hollers of the nosy, hooting, screeching primates of her jungle home from miles away, so maybe her ears were still adapting to having such a loud noise so close?

Jane was brought out of her concerned thoughts when she felt Ben's lips press against her own in a short, good-bye kiss until they would meet again a few class periods later for Biteology and hopefully survive the wrath of Mr. Hackington. The simple display of affection was like how the elephants of her jungle home hugged one another with their trunks, but this was something entirely different. Her lips burned in that split second of love and she felt shivers rattle their way across her skin like an electric shock; the way Ben's strong arms encircled her in a hug reminded her of a friendly python she had once met, but this was much warmer and far more comforting than the cool, smooth scales of the constricting snake. It felt wonderful for those short, few seconds.

Alas, it was only for a few, short seconds.

She found herself longing for that feeling again, to never end to be more specific, but the cruel mistress that was the bell and the dangers that came with it was not to be disobeyed and she found her tight grip in Ben's hand slipping and going slack until they were holding each other but by a few fingers. And even then those failed as well and they were once again parted.

"So far so good." Jane decided that their short encounter was for the best, no matter how much she disliked it. If her false mate found any flaws in her other than her less than desirable figure, they would be done for; it was how the laws of nature worked. Only the best mates with the most desirable features and capabilities were successful in producing offspring and she so desperately wanted to be with Ben long enough to sire him a child and prove her worth.

Hopefully by then the unsightly little bumps on her head would be long gone by then.

In the meantime however, her main priority would be getting to her Mad Science class and not suffer the cruel punishment of Mr. Hackington; it was bad enough she had two classes with him in the same day. With a sigh, Jane tightened the straps of her backpack and took off at a brisk jog in the hopes of getting to the second floor classroom, mumbling under her breath that this was one of the few times she desperately wished that there were more vines to swing from at Monster High.

* * *

Jane recoiled at the situation before her, trying very so desperately not to suddenly blow chunks everywhere at the horrendous scene before her. She knew that death was a part of nature and that carnivores relied on the deaths of other animals in order to survive and, in turn, the herbivores relied on the carnivores to keep their numbers in check and weed out the sick and old to ensure a healthy environment. She had accepted this from a very young age and had even indulged in hunting her animal brethren on the rare occasion to get the protein she needed to stay fit and healthy, but even then it was only those animals whose time had come and allowed themselves to be killed for her survival; she made sure that their deaths were always quick and as painless as possible and that they were honored for their sacrifice.

But this . . . this was just wrong. So very, very, _very_ wrong.

Lying flat on its back with all four of its webbed limps splayed out was one of but dozens of dead, three-eyed frogs that Mr. Hackington had slowly and cruelly killed by stuffing the poor creature and the rest of his amphibian friends into an ice-cold freezer stowed beneath his desk. The unfortunate frog was then ruthlessly ripped open to let its innards and organs spill out to be starred and poked at; Jane couldn't have been more disgusted when they were told to remove the liver.

She felt like she was going to hurl when Mr. Hackington all but casually popped his own frog's liver into his mouth and ate it like candy. The rest of the class shared her sympathies as rounds of disgust and illness rang throughout the classroom.

This was unnatural, torturing a poor creature long after death and disrespecting its sacrifice. Death should be as swift and as comforting as possible, not something to fear. Jane had learned this from a young age and it broke her heart whenever she was unfortunate to come across examples of such disrespect to the delicate balance of life and death; it took all her strength and will power not to brutally hunt down the poachers that plagued her jungle home and decree an act of vengeance in the name of poor animals that had been ruthlessly slaughtered for their horns and pelts.

Thus it took even greater restraint to not jump upon and try to strangle Mr. Hackington as he barbarically played with a pair of dissected frogs like one would with dolls.

"I don't think your hands would fit around his neck, lass."

Jane almost dropped the pair of tweezers from her hand at the sound of her near silent partner's voice and turned to stare near breathlessly at Scarah Screams. The banshee was gifted with pale skin, an odd mixture of blue and green that created an eerie shade of ghostly glow and only highlighted her featureless, white eyes. Her fluid black hair – normally stringy and greasy in most banshee's if Jane remembered her knowledge of monster species – was cut in a style that the jungle ghoul had often heard to be called a 60's mod with a lime green, Alice band that divided her scalp in two. Scarah wore her usual green halter top and olive miniskirt, completing her outfit with her usual black pumps.

The jungle ghoul panted heavily as she clutched the area over her heart. "Great migrations of Tanzania, Scarah! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

" _Please don't start on that nonsense again, lass. Janey mack, it's bad enough when every monster out there takes every wee thing ya say as an omen of death._ " Scarah apologized as she switched to speaking with her mind. It was a rather uncommon and somewhat unorthodox ability for a monster of any species to utilize telepathy as a means of communication, but Scarah made it work. If for no other reason than to avoid a majority of Monster High's student body taking everything she said the wrong way.

Jane sighed and tried to relax her hammering pulse. "Sorry. It's just . . . I-I'm a little nervous."

As if on cue, she felt a sudden spike of pain tear its way through her body. It took all her strength not to cry out as she gritted her teeth and dug her fingers into her palms with enough force to possibly draw forth blood. An odd sensation began to mix its way into the agonizing feeling and Jane was granted with the sound of squishing flesh and ruptured tissue and it wasn't until she felt something move on her back did she really begin to worry.

All Scarah could do was simply stare at her with her milky white eyes. " _You alright, lass? Yer lookin' a wee bit green 'round the gills, if ye be catchin' me drift._ "

Jane swallowed nervously, feeling uncomfortably hot now that her choice of attire seemed to be more of a hindrance given that it was seemingly several sizes too small. She was afraid of answering on the off chance that even talking was enough to get her sweatshirt to split and reveal whatever most likely embarrassing secret lurked beneath. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she took several calming breaths in an attempt to slow her pulse to no avail, leading her to frantically start looking for escape routes and places to hide; she needed to get out of there before she did something embarrassing.

Thankfully, the most common of excuses was at her beck and call. "Pardon me, Mr. Hackington, but may I use the lavatory? It's rather urgent." Jane raised her hand as carefully as possible, lest the simple movement be enough to shred her disguise.

Unsurprisingly, the burly man merely waved a hand towards the doorway, too engrossed in playing with his dissected frogs to pay much attention. There was little that could distract Mr. Hackington from the joys of torturing his students almost daily, but the dissection of lab animals and creating monsters were but two surefire ways to render him completely distracted; after all, he had spent years as a professional Igor, so it was hardly worth making a scene over when he made the pair of frogs in his meaty hands passionately kiss one another after eating a tick he plucked off his arm.

Regardless, the class made it well known that they were absolutely disgusted.

Jane wasted no time in leaving while the class remained revolted at their teacher and quickly made her exit into the labyrinth of halls and corridors and the occasional secret passage or two that made up Monster High's skeleton. The massive school was like a gigantic body of sorts with the walls and classrooms acting like bones and its students and staff behaving similar to the anitbodies and bacteria that kept the body healthy and free of sickness, but at the same time it felt like a prison, a cage, an endless maze of twists and turns that left Jane dizzy and disoriented at times. This was usually where Ben would either give her directions or walk her to her classes himself, thus relieving her of the stress. It was bad enough that she had to deal with more monsters of her age than she was used to tolerating and the headache that was navigating Monster High's floors and stories only added to the problem; and monsters though that finding their way through the jungle was hard!

There were no trees that Jane had marked to find her way back after long treks, no familiar trails, no rivers, no rock formations, no clearings, no elephants to open up the vast swath of jungle to allow vision and new life to grow. Here in Monster High, everything was so enclosed and pressed together in such an unnecessary way

This put great pressure on Jane's already panicked mind. She hadn't realized up until now how much she depended on Ben to keep her anchored to reality and not up and have a panic attack every time she was forced to walk between classes without him. All the bumping of shoulders and jostling of bodies as every student focused solely on where they needed to be within the next ten minutes without worry or care of who was around them. In a way, it reminded Jane of the wildebeest herds that sometimes wandered close to the edge of the jungle during their yearly migration, only about five times worse with everyone crammed into narrow corridors and not on an open savanna with plenty of elbow room to spare.

The jungle ghoul felt her heart hammering in her bosom as she ran, her lungs heaving with sweat pouring down her brow as she fought to remember where the Sphinx the nearest ghoulsroom was. She needed a mirror or other reflective surface as fast as possible and, if things were already dire enough, Jane was pretty sure they getting worse. An odd, uncomfortable feeling was welling over her and a creeping series of snaps, crackles, and pops was all that filled her ears as she skidded to a stop at a crossroads and took the left hallway.

 _Oh, why does everything have to look the same!?_ Jane thought frantically to herself as she ran. To the inexperienced eye, every row of lockers looked identical to the other, every hallway looked the same, and there were few ways to mark her daily route to her classes; she would have normally traveled by air vent, but the teacher's disapproved of her quite literally dropping in on the class through the ceiling. Headmistress Bloodgood had even forbid her from using the ventilation shafts as an easy way to travel after Heath had tried it himself and had gotten himself so tightly wedged in a duct above the lunchroom that the New Salem fire department had to be called in to get him out.

" _Oof!_ "

The jungle ghoul was now on the floor and her forehead was pounding; she couldn't be sure, but it seemed like the two bumps growing out of her skull were getting bigger, but that might have been the painful sensation talking. What or who she ran into was not something she should be concerned about now. Now was the time to try and get away from as fast as possible before-

"Jane? What are you doing out here?"

The jungle ghoul nearly felt her heart stop when she heard that far too familiar voice. With a nervous swallow she looked up from the floor at Ben rubbing his skull where the two of them had collided with one another at high speed. This was by far the worst outcome for Jane's situation as Ben was the _last_ person she wanted to run into. Toralei or one of her cronies would have been the second worse choice as they would have been likely to twist her words or image into a laughing stock instead of something to be concerned about; Ben on the other hand, worried Jane even more, as he was the one she held the most dear to her and whose opinion mattered the most to her on every and all levels. She loved him deeply and strove to prove to him that she was the perfect candidate for future mate to be.

Mates had to be of the best quality to ensure that the best genes of both the mother and father were passed down to the next generation and thus ensured that the species' as a whole flourished and thrived while others went extinct by natural selection. She had to be perfect for him, no flaws were acceptable; a slight blemish would signify that she was a carrier for parasites or diseases, malformed breasts were a sign of malnourishment, an underdeveloped figure meant that she was not fertile enough to bare his offspring to him. So many factors went into selecting the right mate and to Jane, Ben had all of them while she only had a few.

If he caught even the slightest catch of her condition . . . she didn't know what she would do.

It was then that Jane did what came most naturally to her: she bolted.

" _Jane!_ " Ben shouted as she fled down the hall from him and skidded to a stop at another crossroads, this time taking the right path. The agonizing feeling had returned once more, creeping through her body like a sort of virus as pinpricks like that of pins and needles danced their way across her arms. More crunches and snaps and pops radiated across her body as she ran, her heart pounding in her chest as she finally came across the ghoulsroom and barged through the door, locking it swiftly behind her.

The jungle ghoul didn't waste any time in double checking that she was the only one in the bathroom before cautiously approaching the sink to gaze at herself in the mirror with an almost nervous deamor. She didn't know what was happening to her, but she most certainly didn't like the symptoms, whatever they were; the first thing Jane did were carefully peel back the hood of her sweatshirt to look at the two bumps protruding from her skull.

Jane could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat at what she saw.

There, growing from her skull and curling back around on either side of her head, were a pair of horns not unlike that of a bighorn sheep's This normally wouldn't be cause for alarm as quite a few monster species began to grow horns when they reached sexual maturity – Jersey devils, manticores, dragons, Ceryneian Hinds, minotaurs, grootslangs, even unicorns and some species of centaur – but Jane was pretty sure that she was not related to any of them. She didn't possess hooves for one and most of those monsters had originated from grazing ancestors that had evolved them for defense; she was too humanoid to be connected to any of them, which was a frightening factor within itself.'s

Next came the sweatshirt itself, which was more problematic than Jane had originally thought. She struggled to slip her arms out of the sleeves and pull her head through the appropriate hole with the article of clothing getting caught on her new horns, and it wasn't until the sweatshirt fell lifeless to the floor did she realize exactly why it was so hard to get off in the first place. Her frame was at least three times its original size, her shoulder massive and broad and like that of a powerful beast perfectly designed for immense strength. It took her a few seconds to realize that under the coarse, indigo fur that covered her biceps and shoulders and partially covered her shoulder blades – it was horribly itchy under her top – to realize that they were quite similar to that of a mighty gorilla and, if the way the itching sensation only grew bigger and more problematic, it was spreading. Muscles threaded themselves through her tissue like yarn, tightly weaving them together with sinew and tendons while they swelled in size and strength. Her fingers pulsed and ballooned with raw power while the shaggy coat of fur that traveled down her arms until stopping at the back of her hands.

Her head was starting to spin, new thoughts and emotions she had never experienced before suddenly flooding into the chaotic storm of her mind. They weren't entirely unfamiliar, but they were different than what she was used to and that frightened her.

 _Consume._

 _Survive._

 _Defend what is yours._

 _Adapt._

 _Kill._

A hundred voices were echoing in her head now, a hundred more joining in with every passing second until she couldn't hear anything else, just the same relentless chanting over and over and over again. Her head was absolutely killing Jane at this point, her body in absolute agony as it contorted and morphed and changed without rhyme or reason, becoming bigger and more twisted with every passing second. She tried to fight the strange emotions welling up inside her, oh how she so desperately tried to keep a grip on reality, but in the end it simply became too much for her to handle; her head felt like it was going to explode.

With a loud scream of torment, the jungle ghoul collapsed to her knees and let herself get lost in her new found insanity.

* * *

Ben was naturally worried when he had crashed head first into Jane in the hallway.

This was genuinely concerning as the jungle ghoul was easily frightened or upset by things she didn't completely understand. The last time that had happened, she had nearly had a full on panic attack in her Physical Deaducation class during a game of casketball when she was suddenly thrown the ball. She had no idea what to do or where to go, and with a pack of viciously, towering monsters bearing down on her with the force of a charging herd of rhinos Jane did what she did best when in circumstances she was uncomfortable with: she dropped the ball and full on ran, effortlessly scaling the wall of the gymnasium, popping off a ventilation grate, and making her way through the labyrinth of ducts until she had tracked Ben all the way to his Hiss-tory class on the third floor.

There was also the matter of Jane taking the required Mad Science classes. While she could easily handle most of the experiments and lessons taught to her, dissection was one thing her stomach was not willing to tolerate. And if she wasn't emptying her insides out in the ghoulsroom, then the jungle ghoul was throttling Mr. Hackington with all her strength; of course, that had only happened once when the burly man had taken things too far and had to have his memory wiped by Pesky Dust in order to prevent a sadistic punishment.

In all fairness, Mr. Hackington should have known that squishing the fetal pig's heart between his fingers right in front of Jane's face was going to earn him a black eye and a very sore throat.

Ben was pulled from his thoughts when an ear-splitting scream that was just a few decibels higher than the average banshee nearly ruptured his eardrums. The sharp spike of pain was swiftly overlooked when he realized exactly who was shrieking loud to wake the dead: his Sweet Mango.

" _Jane!_ " he called out as he rushed down the hall towards the source of the noise.

The screams only increased in volume and pitch, getting louder and more nerve-wracking by the second, and it absolutely tore Ben's heart to shreds to hear his ghoulfriend in so much pain. A million situations and scenarios were running through his head like a stampede of nightmares, images of massive monsters, brutal bullies, and nefarious normies filling his thoughts with fear at what might happen if he didn't arrive in time. He didn't doubt that Jane couldn't defend herself, but she preferred the more simple tactic of running away from problems than facing them and there was no telling whether he extensive knowledge of the school's ventilation would help or not.

The howls of pure, white hot agony were now starting to sound more strangled and forced as if Jane were being choked and running low on precious oxygen, which only served to make Ben more determined to get there and help her as soon as possible. He didn't hesitate in the slightest as he tapped the Omnitrix and randomly cycled through the available aliens before slamming down on the core without bothering to even look at which transformation he had selected.

Ben felt his the bones in his hands crack and crunch loudly as his fingers were forced together to form a pair of sharp claws and thumb that quickly solidified with the rest of his skin while chitin traveled up his arms and across his shoulders, criss-crossing down over his chest and down his legs. His organs squelched and pulsed deep within his tissue, the bones pushing themselves past his muscles and fat and fusing with his skin, morphing into a durable exoskeleton that turned a sickly shade of greenish-yellow most would associate with vomit. Ben's legs hissed and popped as they wrapped around each other, molding together into a single limb just as three pairs of stiff, jointed legs erupted out of his chest and sides like some kind of alien movie nightmare; his feet and toes pulled and pushed into the form of a large, pointed stinger complete with venomous sacks buried just beneath the deadly spike. The back of his shirt ripped open when gossamer wings sprouted from his back and pushed themselves out from beneath his shoulder blades, still glistening with moisture as his jaw thrust forward into a crude underbite, complete with disfigured teeth. As if that weren't bad enough, two pairs of fleshy stalk eyes pushed themselves out from either side of Ben's head just as his face was covered in the last remaining bits of his exoskeleton skeleton, losing use of his original set of eyes altogether. The transfiguration ended when the Omnitrix appeared upon his forehead and a black and green bodysuit enveloped his new form.

The Lepidopterran buzzed his gossamer wings and lifted off the ground, swooping down the hallway as quickly as possible. By now Jane's screams were drowned out by savage and voracious growls and roars that came in short, ragged blasts of desperation that sounded almost like whatever was making all the racket was doing it just for the heck of it.

Not everyone was amused by the racket. " _What is with all the noise!?_ " Mr. Rotter snarled angrily as he slammed his classroom door open. "The screams were bad enough, but my class can barely hear me teach!"

"Sorry!" Stinkfly apologized.

The cold creeper turned his icy gaze on the Lepidopterran and scowled. " _You!_ I should have known you would have something to do with this!"

The alien arthropod rolled all four of his eyes. "Sure, because the moment somethin's up, I'm _always_ the one responsible!"

" _ **RRRWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!**_ "

The Lepidopterran decided that shooting the breeze with one of his least favorite teacher's (definitely in the bottom five) was a waste of time, especially with his ghoulfriend's life at stake. That might have sounded a tad extreme to some people, but those people didn't know Monster High like Stinkfly and the rest of the students and staff did. Everyday there was potential for something to wrong or for some crazy shenanigan to occur to the point where it was almost ridiculous that so much chaos could exist in one place; the kraken that lived at the bottom of the school pool could go on a rampage and it would be considered no more than a monthly occurrence at the most, a weekly issue at the very least.

The bellowing was getting louder the closer he got and there were now thundering crashes and other sounds of destruction accompanying its orchestra of devastation. As if that weren't obvious enough, students were finally taking notice of and reacting to the terrible noise with what was probably the most appropriate response: they ran away, screaming, and in the opposite direction.

Stinkfly found it _almost_ amusing that he was flying _towards_ the problem instead of away from it.

Almost.

Soon enough, he came upon what was making all the racket in the first place the moment he came to the main hallway that would divert the mainstream of student body towards their respective classes or the Creepateria; he knew that Monster High had some rather strange looking creatures that called its attics and subspaces or the catacombs their home, but this seemed beyond even that.

It was big, about the size of a full grown rhinoceros and then some. It looked almost reptilian in nature given how it held itself up off the ground, but that was before anyone gave it more than a passing glance. The forelimbs were heavy and seemed to support most of the body given how huge they were compared to the legs and were coated in shaggy, black hair all the way up to the leathery gray knuckle; the fingers curled back and their power must have been immense, almost up there with the alien arthropod's Tetramand form. The back and shoulders were covered in armored scales in stark contrast to the hairy forelimbs, colored a grungy collage of browns, greens, and blacks like that of a crocodile. A long tail like that of a lizard snaked out from behind the beast, sweeping low against the floor as it's hind legs – which bore resemblance to that of a dog in structure – lifted and clenched their bird-like talons with unsettling strength. Curved horns like that of a ram's sprouted from either side of the beast's skull and the jaws were strong and powerful, shaped like a steel bear trap and filled to the brim with crushing teeth that stuck haphazardly out of the gums similar to how an anglerfish's maw was designed. The eyes were bright and intense like that of a hawk's and they seemed to glare at their surroundings with unprecedented steel.

Especially when they were trained on Stinkfly.

"Sweet mother of mutation, what the Sphinx is that thing!?" the Lepidopterran yelped, startling back at the sight of terrifying monstrosity.

The creature took notice of him and let out an ear-splitting bellow that sent Stinkfly reeling back from the sheer volume. Taking advantage of his momentary daze, the monster lunged at him with jaws wide open and claws outstretched, just barely missing as the Lepidopterran came back to his senses and swooped out of the way in the nick of time; the creature landed on the wall behind him, the razor-sharp claws digging in for support while it snarled at him viciously.

Stinkfly gritted his crooked teeth. "Eat slime!" he spat. A quick contraction of the muscles in all four of his eye stalks and fired off two pairs of cold, sticky slime from his pollen ducts. The creature was unfortunately quite agile and effortlessly dodged the jets of slime aimed at it, leaping to the floor and easily whipping left and right to dodge the continuously barrage of goo. "Hold still!"

The monster's natural response was of course, to ignore his pleas and lung at the Lepidopterran once more, successfully managed to grab hold of and bite down on his stinging tail with bone-crushing ferocity. Stinkfly was yanked out of the air and abruptly thrown against the floor, knocking the wind out of him before being pulled up and chucked back down on the floor a second time. The beast was shaking him like a pitbull now, its teeth sinking deeper and deeper into his exoskeleton the more it shook its head. Desperate, he drew back his head and spat out a jet of disgusting slime and managed to hit the creature in the face, blinding it, and allowing him to escape.

"Looks like you got yerself in a _sticky_ situation." Stinkfly chuckled to himself while he quickly buzzed his gossamer wings and took to the safety of the air again. "But just to be on the safe side . . ."

The alien arthropod proceeded to swiftly fire off globlets of immobilizing adhesive from the pollen ducts located inside of his eyes, aiming for the feet and wicked claws of the beast to keep it trapped in one place. He then upchucked another stream of sticky residue from his jaws and quickly layered that over the beast's back and securing the sticky strands to the floor to ensure minimal chance of escape. The beast only struggled and fought even harder against its bonds once it realized how vulnerable it suddenly was when Stinkfly alighted down on the ground with a triumphant smirk on his face; a series of dying beeps filled the air and the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world in a blast of green energy.

"Well, that was easier than I thought," he mused, rubbing his chin in contemplation as he examined the monster before him. "But where'd you exactly come from? And . . . _Sphinx, what happened to Jane!?_ " he panicked when he realized he had nearly all but forgotten about his ailing ghoulfriend. The last he had heard of she seemed to be in some kind of excruciating pain beyond his comprehension and that immediately set off alarm bells in his face.

Ben suddenly turned on the laboring creature and jammed an angry finger at it. "Alright, _you._ You may have been an easy take down, but doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you if you don't start talking. _Where. Is. Jane?_ " he growled, clenching his fists tightly. Most monsters would have found it rather unusual that he was accusing a seemingly random creature of unknown origin of having something to do with the endangerment of his ghoulfriend, but in Ben's mind it all made sense in a rather weird way. The creature had only just appeared once Jane's twisted screams of agony had diminished, thus meaning that they were somehow linked with one another through methods he still had yet to figure out; it at least made sense to him.

The creature seemed to respond to mention of his ghoulfriend's name when it gave a reverberating growl and snapped its lethal jaws at him. Ben was about to retort with another threat when he realized that the beast was trembling violently; at first he thought this might have been out of fear and that he had finally gotten across to the thing. Then he realized that this probably wasn't the case when the creature began to larger and heavier, easily snapping its adhesive bonds when its shoulders and back swelled with new tissue and muscle. A series of sickening crunches and snaps like broken cornstalks filled the air as its skeleton grew bigger and bigger to accommodate its new size while new features began to pop out from nearly all directions.

The long, reptilian tail of the beast grew thicker around until it was nearly as big as a telephone pole and covered in durable, bony plates of armor fused together into a shell of sorts. The heavy plating rippled across the creature's back, covering the shoulders, neck and head as bony scutes popped out from between the sections of armored plating for extra protection. Ben's eyes widened with shock as a pair of large, curved tusks like one might find on an elephant seemed to painfully thrust themselves out of the monster's cheeks, his jaw dropping slack when a second pair of cold, reptilian eyes split open along the skull just in front of the original pair of avian orbs. A sound similar to cracking wood caught his attention and he looked down at the massive, right hand to find dagger-like claws similar to a grizzly bear sprouting from the once crude nails. The most unnerving surprise however, was when Ben noticed the left arm was morphing and shifting dramatically before his very eyes; the shaggy, indigo fur was slurped back into the skin like strands of spaghetti, exposing pale, lilac skin in its place. This quickly hardened with a disgusting squelching noise into an armored carapace laden with dark, violet spots. The fingers all smoothly melted together and the thumb expanded until the two remaining digits formed a single, gigantic set of pincers like that of a crab or lobster.

Ben took a step back as the now elephant-sized creature loomed over him, tearing away the last of its bonds with little to no effort on its part. "Oh, great. It's gonna be one of _those_ days." he mumbled to himself.

The beast bellowed and with one clean swing of its gigantic, crab claw sent Ben flying through the air just as he activated the Omnitrix and crashed straight through a wall like it was made of tissue paper. His soft skin cracked and split loudly as it was compressed and crushed together noisily, his entire body squelching in protest as he was squeezed under intense pressure; for a moment, he thought was going to die or already dying. Sweet relief came in the form of his fingers fusing together into a set of powerful digits whose surface gave birth to small, brown pebbles. He watched with fascination as the pebbles traveled up his fingers and swallowed his hand, growing into large rocks and stone that made their way up his swelling up arms until they were massive boulders that made up his entire shoulder. His body jerked and jostled as rock and stone took over his physiology, punching through his soft skin and flesh and fusing together into tough plates that turned a variety of shades of brown and tan in color; sharp spikes jutted out of Ben's forearms and shoulders. His head was thrust down into his body just the slightest, his brow becoming thick and heavy while his ankles and feet exploded in size were turned into a pair of rocky pillars and roughly transitioned into his thighs and hips. The transformation ended as a pair of black and green shorts, a top that attached to a thick collar around his neck, and a pair of heavy braces around his wrists materialized on him with the Omnitrix appearing on his belt.

With a low groan, Rocks rose from the pile of plaster and rubble while rubbing his rocky skull, taking note that he had been thrown clear through a couple of walls and into the Castleteria where he had easily crushed several lunch tables that nobody had thankfully been sitting at. The familiar growling of his opponent drew his attention away from the cowering students that hid behind flipped over tables like soldiers in a tench and back towards the beast as it stalked through the cavernous hole that his hulking form had made.

The Basalt sighed wearily. "That's comin' out of my allowance." he grunted while he climbed to his feet and cracked his stony knuckles. "Alright, Ugly, time to rock the house!"

The monster bellowed in response and reared up onto its hind legs to draw about even with Rocks' hulking form, glaring sinisterly at him before charging straight at him like a barreling train. The Basalt was ready and quickly grabbed hold of the pair of tusks jutting out of the mangled maw of the hideous collection of animal parts, roughly wrestling it to the ground with a deafening tremor. The beast bellowed in protest, yanking its head up and shaking it viciously left and right in an effort to shake the Basalt off, but with little effect. It wasn't until the creature suddenly unhinged its jaws and spat out a sudden jet of sticky silk at Rocks face did he finally falter, surprised by the sudden evolution.

That was all the beast needed. With a movement that should have been impossible for its size it whipped around and swung its tail like a club at Rocks, successfully nailing him in the chest and sending him flying across the Creepateria and into the opposite, leaving a massive crater in his wake as he slid down to the floor with a grunt of annoyance.

" _Ben?_ "

The Basalt perked up at the sound of the familiar voice and glanced down at the Omnitrix fused to his belt. "Uh, Headmistress Bloodgood? Is that you?"

The feminine voice on the other end gave an all too acquainted sigh that the Basalt had heard time and time again during his enrollment at Monster High. It wasn't like he was _trying_ to run the school bankrupt with all his shenanigans, he actually liked it very much compared to his old high school back in Bellwood where he had been the subject of many rumors and accusations, not all of which were friendly. It just so happened that trouble followed him like a magnet and his roster of villains and arch nemeses didn't seem to have gotten the memo about leaving his new hometown out of their agendas. "I should have known the moment I heard screams that you would somehow be involved."

"Oh, come on! It's not like I _intentionally_ let this happen!" Rocks complained. "Seriously, this . . . _thing_ . . . came out of nowhere and attacked me! It was self defense!"

Bloodgood gave a sound of sympathy from the other end of the Omnitrix. "I know, Ben, I know. But the bottom line is that the Board of Deaducation is seriously reconsidering pulling our funding if anymore . . . _accidents_ happen, and I can't allow that to happen."

The sound of heavy feet and an even louder bellow cut off any sort of protest that Rocks might have tried to argue with. "Uh, can I get back to you on that?" he asked.

" _Why?_ "

The Basalt didn't give an immediate response and instead hurriedly scrambled to his feet, charging head on at the misshapen creature with his fist drawn back until the two were almost upon one another like a pair of trains that had ended up on the same set of tracks and were about to collide in a fiery explosion. Rocks quickly drew back his fist at the last second however, and slugged the mighty beast across the face while knocking out several of its crooked fangs from its mangled jaws in the process.

"Because I'm kinda workin' on damage control right now!" he managed to answer while the creature was dazed. With a loud yell he launched himself head on at the mammoth-sized monster and latched onto one of its tusks and horns, hanging on tightly as the beast thrashed about with wild ferocity. The Basalt came to a sickening realization that there were in fact still students trapped within the mess of the Creepateria and they were most likely no closer to safety with his presence sending their current dilemma over the deep end. "Look, can you get everyone outta the buildin' while I deal with Big, Bad, and Brutal over here?"

Headmistress Bloodgood's tone was tired yet serious. "I'll see what I can do, Ben. But as much as I hate to do this, unless you can bring things under control I'm going to have to call in the New Salem police to handle things."

"Those clowns!? Are you serious!?" Rocks griped. The beast bellowed with rage and twisted its head upward, throwing the rock-based lifeform over its broad shoulders and high into the air where he came crashing down on another lunch table, smashing it to pieces with the disturbing sounds of twisting metal and splintering, polished wood. "Oh, that's it! You're goin' down, Monster Face!"

Despite the sounds of battle, the headmistress was still attempting to speak over the racket of destruction. "I'm afraid I am, Ben. I'm already bending the rules by letting you try to handle things and racking up a rather impressive bill at the same time, I might at. I can already tell we might have to cancel the art programs just to make ends meet . . ."

"Aw, come on!" Rocks growled with irritation, though whether it was over the fact that some of his favorite classes might be terminated or the round of sticky spider silk he took to the face was up for debate. The students of Monster High were already on edge with having a human – a normie as they called them – attend their school, even if he was someone like Ben that had grown up on the far stranger side of things and thus didn't see them as the horrible creatures that the other residents of New Salem made them out to be. To be the reason that some of the most appreciated classes in the school were canceled for the rest of the year would not help his high school career anymore than the chaos that seemed to follow him wherever he went.

"I'm sorry, Benjamin, but rules are rules. I can give you another fifteen minutes, give or take five or so, but that's about all I can allow before I have to call the authorities." Headmistress Bloodgood's apprehensive tone was one of the sole reasons that the Basalt was currently pulling his figurative hair out of the situation; she didn't seem overly excited about the idea of letting some monster-hating normies handle monster matters either, and that was perhaps the most appreciation he had for her at the moment. "I'll call an emergency evacuation for anyone that hasn't already made it outside. Try to help anyone that may still be trapped inside as best as you can."

"I'll see what I can do." Rocks grunted as he heaved a slab or broken table over his shoulder and chucked it straight at the monster's head, successfully nailing it. "By the way, have you seen Jane anywhere? I've been trying to find her ever since I ran into her in the hallway, but . . ."

"You became distracted." Bloodgood summed up.

"I was going for ' _occupied'!_ "

The headmistress hummed. "I'm afraid I haven't, Ben. I'm sure you of all people know that if Ms. Boolittle doesn't want to be found, you won't find her unless she wants you to find her." was the best piece of advice she could offer him at the moment. "I've got to run. It would seem my office is no longer safe to stay in."

"Gotcha. Over an' out!" Rocks panted as rested for a bit to catch his breath. The beast wasn't letting up in any regards and the two of them seemed to be easily matched in nearly all regards, possessing a similar level of strength and power that they only just barely managed to gain an edge over each other before being pushed back down again. He needed a way to level the playing field a bit, just enough that he could take down the gigantic monstrosity without causing too much more damage to school so he could find out just what had happened to his beloved ghoulfriend; as much as he so desperately hated to admit it, the lives of many outweighed the life of one and his duties as a hero prevented him from protecting that one soul that meant more to him than most everything he had ever loved in his entire life.

A loud creak suddenly broke the silence and drew his attention towards a pile of debris just behind the towering form of the animal monstrosity. The Basalt felt his blood run cold – he wasn't exactly sure if he had any to speak of – when he saw the familiar, mint green hand of Frankie Stein come crawling out and dragging the rest of her with it; the young simulacrum looked fine for the most part, a little banged up and bruised, but no worse for wear. The only problem was that she had unintentionally drawn the attention of the monstrous creature in the process of digging herself out of the rubble.

Instinct kicked in almost immediately as Rocks surged forward with as much speed as he could muster and promptly grabbed hold of the beast's armored tail. With every last ounce of his strength he yanked and pulled at the monster's incredible weight until he had managed to lift the whole beast over his shoulder despite all its initial struggling. The Basalt then firmly planted his feet into the ground and began to slowly spin around in a loose circle, picking up and increasing his speed with a tight grip on the monstrosity's tail until the two of them were spinning like a top together. When he finally had enough momentum, Rocks finally let the gigantic creature go flying with a loud yell and watch with fatigue as it went flying towards the apposing wall and crashed not through one or two, but three classrooms before finally coming to a stop.

With a loud yell, the rock-based lifeform drew back his tremendous fists and slammed them against the ground as hard as possible, a rippling shockwave coursing through the floor upon a chaotic ocean of cracks and crevices between which disturbed pieces of rock erupted forth. The beast was too exhausted to even bother fighting the gigantic, spike-like rocks that jutted up through the floor around it, firmly pinning it between themselves.

The Basalt ignored all the damage entirely when he hurriedly lumbered over to the pile of rubble and easily cleared the rest away with one movement of his huge hand, allowing Frankie to use him as a support as she climbed to her feet. "You alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine." she waved it off with a warm smile. "I just hope Abbey's not too worried."

Rocks suppressed the urge to flinch at the mere mention of the yeti's name. While it was true that the two of them were housemates with Headmistress Bloodgood, and shared something similar to a siblings relationship with one another, that didn't mean he wasn't aware or frightened of Abbey's temper. The last monster that had ticked her off – incidentally and unsurprisingly, Heath Burns – ended up having both their shoulders dislocated after making a lewd comment in her direction. He dreaded to think what the result might be if her sweet, beloved Frankie was put in any mortal danger.

The thought of Abbey going over the deep end at the thought of her ghoulfriend in danger felt like a punch to the gut when Rocks remembered that his own ghoulfriend was still missing in action. "I'm sure she's fine," he reassured Frankie. "Not to be rude or anything, but you haven't seen Jane anywhere, have you? I ran into her in the hallway before this whole mess happened but I haven't seen her since; I'm really worried."

Frankie shook her head, tossing her lightning white and black hair back and forth. "I'm afraid not, Ben. I haven't seen her anywhere . . . it's really sweet that you care a lot about her though." she tried to console the gigantic rock-based lifeform, her mint green digits absolutely dwarfed by his gigantic hand.

The Basalt deflated. "Thanks, I guess . . ." he sighed before straightening up once more and cracking his knuckles. "Now lets get you outta here before Abbey freezes me into the next ice age."

The Daughter of Frankenstein's Monster instinctively took a few steps back and took cover behind Rocks' tremendous form as he planted one of his gigantic hands against the Creepateria wall to minimize damage similar to how one reduced the amount of paper torn from a single sheet. It took only one blow for him to level a good section of the building's structure enough that Frankie could slip out without furthering injuring herself from the jagged splinters of wood, mangled pipes and ducts, and rough pieces of stone that had made up Monster High's exterior for centuries, big enough for a car to drive through.

"You know, there probably was a door we could've used." Frankie coughed at the dusty plaster in her lungs.

"First Rotter, then Bloodgood, and now you? What is this, 'Criticize the Hero Day'?"

" _Frankie!_ "

Any attempt for the young cadaver to come up with a witty retort was cut off when Abbey Bominable shoved her way through the crowd of haggled and anxious students and staff that had been gathered outside in the school courtyard. Frankie hurriedly scrambled through the large hole, raced out across the courtyard, and into her ghoulfriend's arm, kissing her deeply and passionately as she was enveloped into a bone-crushing hug that strong enough to shatter her skeleton yet tender enough to convey the sheer amount of concern and worry Abbey had been feeling for the past hour.

Rocks watched with longing and felt his heart clench when he remembered a similar scene from earlier that morning, remembering the pure amount of emotion so tenderly passed between one another. She had entrusted her entire safety into him, the one person that she sought out for when she was scared and in need of reassurance, the one person she put all her faith in, the one person that she loved more than anything else in the world, and he had failed her. It made him feel disgusted with himself.

The thick, foreign-accented voice of Abbey tore his guilt-ridden thoughts away from him. "Abbey is to be thanking you now for keeping friend of ghoul safe." the yeti gave the Basalt a grateful nod before her expression became suspicious and curious. "If Abbey may ask question . . . where is ghoul who is skittish like baby yak? Is she not to be being with you?"

Frankie squirmed slightly in Abbey's arms, pulling her face from the yeti's chest in order to grab a quick breath in exchange for the rest that had been squeezed out of her like a roll of toothpaste. "Ben can't find Jane anywhere. She just . . . disappeared."

Abbey cocked an eyebrow. "Is that not what skittish yak ghoul does?"

Rocks gave a dejected sigh as he rubbed the back of his rock-encrusted neck. "Sometimes . . . I just want to find her and- _ERRGH!_ " the Basalt exclaimed as he was suddenly slammed from his right side and set flying across the Creepateria where he smashed against the opposing wall and obliterated it in an explosion of devastation and destruction. A thunderous roar shook him out of his dazed state and felt himself craning his neck back to stare up at his opponent with a slack jaw and wide eyes.

The monster had broken free of its earth prison and was now absolutely _enormous_. It was easily the size of a dinosaur and yet somehow managed to still fit inside of the lunch room, albeit rather snugly. The tail was thick and heavy and now possessed the unmistakable thagomizers of a _Stegosaurus_ at its tip just before the familiar bone-crushing club of an _Ankylosaurus._ The gigantic maw had even more teeth from various carnivores, if that was even possible, sticking in all directions in what must have been an incredibly painful manner; some of the dagger-like fangs oozed and dripped with various venoms and injections that could easily kill helpless in an innumerable number of ways, and Rocks was pretty sure that its saliva contained some rather nasty concoctions as well. A pair of shark fins had sprouted up along the spine between the interlocking rows of bony armor and needle-like quills resembling those found on a porcupine or hedgehog had grown in a thick carpet along its back. From the right shoulder, a flexible and cracking octopus tentacle had grown with an excessive amount of slime dripping from the suction cups that occasionally sank into the thick mane of fur that had grown from around its neck like a lion's mane. A pair of mismatched wings – one bony and covered with leathery skin like that of a giant fruit bat and the other powerful and feathered like that of a bird of prey – were thrust from below the powerful shoulders, only adding to the sheer size and might of the monstrosity it had become.

It was the eyes that caught Rocks' attention the most. The first two sets of eyes were easily ignorable as they were terrifying when locked onto his stunned form, but third and final pair was what made him unable to even move. They were a crystal clear azure in color with just a hint of jungle green and poisonous purple to give them an extraordinary amount of depth that felt completely bottomless. They were almost human in nature, but no human he knew of had such dazzling eyes that hastily contrasted between mere slits, eternal black orbs, and a child-like curiosity all at once; they were instantly familiar to the Basalt.

" _No . . ._ " he gasped with realization.

The beast unleashed a tremendous, thunderous, vibrating roar that might as well have been a train whistle right in Rocks' ear, it was so loud; he was greeted with at least five rows of jagged, crooked teeth that poked painfully out of the gums in what had to be an agonizing and certainly unnatural fashion and a warm, hot glow at the back of the monster's throat. He was so stunned that he very well might not have jumped out of the way in time had Frankie screaming his name not brought him crashing back to reality.

" _BEN!_ "

Rocks' eyes widened when he realized that the air around was getting uncomfortably hot even for his own rocky hide and quickly scrambled to his feet and out of the way just as a blast of red, hot, smoldering flame exploded from the creature's jaws at the place he had been mere moments before. The volatile concoction of chemicals like that found in certain species of Bombardier beetle and dragonflies was scorching hot and left not only a mark of thick ash upon the floor but small puddles of liquidated debris that had melted on the spot from the searing temperatures.

The Basalt was too busy trying to fully comprehend what was happening to bother even marveling at the familiar sight of a fire-breathing monstrosity trying to destroy him – again. As he just barely blocked a powerful swipe of those huge claws, he could hardly believe that the gigantic beast, the monstrous abomination that was trying to kill him was none other than his missing ghoulfriend. It seemed almost impossible, given the enormous size difference and incredible changes in personality – among other things – but those ocean blue orbs that twinkled just the slightest at the first breath of dusk and twilight were unmistakable; somewhere, somehow, Jane had become an enemy.

He now found himself forced to make the same decision he had to what seemed an eternity ago as he just managed to raise both arms up in front of his face to block a strike of the crushing tail club when the beast – his beloved Sweet Mango – whipped around and tried to shatter him like a pebble. On one hand there were the lives and safety of all those that attended at Monster High at stake, but on the other hand was the life and safety of his own ghoulfriend . . . she must have been in an unfathomable amount of pain without someone to help her through every last agonizing moment as she was transformed into a crime against nature.

The mismatched wings flared out to an astonishing size and gave a single, massive flap that knocked the Basalt flat onto his butt and the unholy jaws of hell itself it seemed unhinged to fire off not smoldering flame, but the familiar, sticky webbing from another set of glands among what must have been numerous pouches located in the beast's head. The silken strands pinned him firmly to the floor before he could attempt to struggle and the creature had turned around a second time to successfully smash the thagomizer-studded tail club into his side, tearing Rocks loose from his bonds and sending him flying through the air, the Creepateria wall, out into the courtyard where he bounced once, twice, and finally fell to the ground, winded.

The Omnitrix gave a series of dying beeps and he was engulfed in a blast of green light as he was returned to his human form. Immediately he was swarmed by a crowd of worried and concerned students and staff and he was dimly aware of Abbey straddling herself upon him and roughly shaking his shoulders while yelling things at him that he couldn't hear; Frankie stood behind her with an anxious expression while clutching her hands close to her chest, her teeth nervously working her lip in disquietude. Ben hardly felt anything now but numbness as he mentally debated what he had to do.

 _The life of one . . . or the life of many?_

 _Which one? Which one? Which one?_

He found himself thinking back to a previous experience while the question tumbled around in his head like a load of socks in a washing machine. The time Kevin Levin had, in an act of desperation to stop a madman from repainting the cosmos with his own hands and incomprehensible power as his brush, had been transformed into an abomination that knew nothing but vengeance and a lust for power he knew he could never obtain through methods that were pure. With his cousin as his fleeting voice of reason and compassion, Ben had had to make one of the toughest choices of his life during that fateful day when it had all come down to a brawl in Los Soledad where only one of them would emerge the victor, one way or another. There had been of course, had been another way out of the dilemma, or Gwen would have been attending college alone, but those moments when he was starring down someone he had quickly begun to consider a brother . . . it had always come down to a single choice.

How morbidly delicious that the fate of the universe was wrested upon his shoulders, a boy and his watch that had been brought together through pure, dumb luck.

An ear-splitting screech tore his thoughts to shreds and brought Ben hurtling back to reality, mere moments before Abbey would have resorted to slapping him across the face in an attempt to get him to focus. Screams of panic and fear quickly filled the air like a cacophony of chaos as everyone turned to flee in a crashing tidal wave of movement as students and staff clamored over one another to get away. The monster – his sweet, darling Jane – exploded forth from the empty school like an alien abomination bursting out of its egg sac and unleashed every bit of power she wielded in a single, terrifying display; with wings spread wide, fire spewing in all directions, unimaginable raw strength and power at her command, a horrifying maw of destruction, and those all too intelligent eyes, it was truly a sight to behold and fear.

Ben pushed Abbey off of him and grunted as he climbed to his feet and dusted himself off before walking a few steps forward to displace him from the crowd. The beast that had formerly been his ghoulfriend shivered its mangled jaw as he approached and put himself between her and the crowd staff and students that all waited with baited breath for either side to move.

"Jane . . ." Ben sucked in a deep breath. "I don't know if you can still hear me or not . . . but I know you're in there somewhere. I don't know where, but I do know this: I don't want to hurt you. I have _never_ wanted to hurt and I have _never_ wanted any harm to come to you." he spoke in a calm and even tone that drew confused and baffled looks from the crowd. "But now . . . I'm left with no other choice."

With a grim expression he brought his left hand up and tapped the Omnitrix upon his wrist, never looking down to watch the holographic display roll past, keeping his eyes on Jane as she glowered at him. After a few seconds he selected a transformation at random and let his hand hover over the blinking activation core, his eyes still locked on the hulking beast before him. "All I can say is . . . I'm sorry."

Without another word, Ben's hand came crashing down on the Omnitrix and encompassed him in a blast of metamorphic energy that began to warp and change his genetic code at the molecular level into something the world had never witnessed. His fingers ground and cracked, twitching violently as his hands faded into an inky blackness that oozed its way up his arms like hot tar across blackened pavement. Across the shoulders and down his front and back it went, consistently criss-crossing over once another in a beautiful display of abyssal coloringwhile his fingernails snapped and twitched and were morphed into hollow, plug-like growths that color of copper. Ben's spine arched and spat out a long, whip-like tail with a forked, plug-like appendage at the tip that cracked back and forth with grim anticipation; muscle and sinew weaved their way into intricate patterns beneath his skin, swelling his figure to nearly twice its previous size and height. His chest pulsed and his toes tore through his shoes in the form of a pair of padded claws while every last strand of hair on his body was shed in favor of the familiar, black tone. Ben's teeth crunched and shifted into sharp fangs, his eyes molded together into a single, green orb, and a pair of long, elastic antennae tipped with forked, plug-like growths sprouted from skull and hung back like a pair of dreadlocks. A strip of green raced its way down his chest and abdomen and the Omnitrix reappeared on his collarbone, completing the transfiguration.

Time seemed to slow down as Jane bellowed thunderously and raised her mighty fists above her head, fully prepared to crush the puny Conductoid beneath her fingers and lay waste to all that stood in her way. At the same time, Feedback thrust out his hands and whipped back his cable-like antennae, stretching them far back until they connected straight with a surprised Frankie's neck bolts, carefully siphoning off a taste of the energy that coursed through her body.

" _Now, Frankie!_ " Feedback yelled, his single eye narrowing with determination.

The young simulacrum swallowed nervously and tightly clenched her fists. It always made her feel bad when she unintentionally shocked someone – she hated hurting other monsters, even if they might have had it coming to them – and even aiding in the pain of another made her chest burn in an uncomfortable manner. But with the lives of all those around her – even her beloved Abbey – even she was left no choice. She gritted teeth she summoned as much electricity as she could muster and sent it out through the Conductoid's conductive antennae.

Feedback gave a loud yell as he fired off every last watt of energy he had managed to gather in a single, powerful shot that hit Jane square in the chest. " _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHH!_ "

" _ **RRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWRRR!**_ " Jane bellowed in agony, an unholy sound that sounded like the demonic offspring of life and death itself. The titanic creature's entire body lit up like a Christmas tree as electricity and energy arched its way over her body in an unbelievably painful way until the surge of power was finally cut off and granted her body sweet mercy. With a low groan of defeat, the collage of mismatched animal parts stumbled back on awkward legs, her broad back and wings slamming against the exterior wall with a thunderous noise that rattled the entire building like a house of cards threatening to collapse.

At the same time, Feedback fell to his knees with ragged breath and slumped over with exhaustion while his antennae limply disconnected himself from Frankie and allowed Abbey to quickly catch her weary ghoulfriend as her legs nearly gave out from under her. The Omnitrix timed out in a series of dying beeps a few moments later and returned Ben to the world, albeit beyond tired and once again out of sync with the world around him as he rested.

The misshapen head snapped up at the familiar sound of the Omnitrix deactivating, the three pairs of eyes sleepily blinking as they tried focus in on the source of the sound until after what seemed hours of painful waiting they settled on Ben's unconscious form, this time with a sense of intelligence in them that had been absent for the longest time. They trained in closely on him withabsolute fear and horror, her once stern expression melting into one of apprehension and angst.

Abbey watched with concern and interest while she supported Frankie as those astuted, azure eyes flickered over the scene of devastation and terror that she had laid in her wake, the amount of chaos and turmoil she had caused as easy as one might crack an eggshell. The beast took in the looks of doubt and distrust on the sea of faces, the way everyone seemed to shift uneasily when they looked at her, as if she might lose herself to some primal instinct once more and attack them without warning. Abbey saw that gaze flicker once more to Ben's limp form and watched as her massive figure sagged with regret and guilt, the wings on her back simultaneously slowly drawing open to their full length.

Without warning the wings gave a mighty flap and sent Jane shooting straight up into the air, much to the sheer terror of the crowd of students and staff. The yeti watched with steely gaze, fully prepared to jump into the fight if necessary as she watched Jane fly in a tight circle high above them with her eyes. A reverberating roar of what might have been remorse resonated through the air as the monstrous mutant gave a final circle around Monster High and flew off towards the distant forest as fast as her wings could carry her; this only calmed down the sudden chaos by a few degrees, now that the source of destruction had fled the scene.

Abbey starred at the spot on the horizon where the winged monstrosity had vanished beyond her line of sight for the longest time, as if mentally daring her to come back. At the same time however, she hoping that she would come back, even if she had caused such desolation and harm to her loved ones; a pained groan drew her attention away from the sky and back towards Ben's inert figure on the ground as he was coming to. With a low hiss he flipped himself over onto his back and simply lay for a few minutes that felt like hours as Abbey waited for a response of any kind, even cursing would have been acceptable.

"Frankie? Abbey?" he spoke up after a bit.

"What does Ben ask of Abbey?" the yeti replied, shifting her hold on her ghoulfriend when she realized that the simulacrum had started to drift off on her lean and strangely comfortable body.

Ben didn't look at her when he responded, though Abbey could sense that something was beginning to boil inside of him from the slight edge in his voice. "Where'd Jane go?"

Abbey was quiet for a few seconds, debating on whether she should give him an answer or not. Deciding that even she didn't want to be on the receiving end of the Omnitrix when her surrogate brother was in such an emotional state, she gave him an honest answer. "Skittish yak ghoul fly away. Abbey does not know where."

Ben frowned and hurriedly climbed to his feet, not even bothering to stretch his aching body before he spun around on his heel without another word and ran back towards the cavernous, collapsing hole in the side of the school, much to Abbey's surprise and bafflement. "Where is Ben to be going?"

"To read a book!"

The yeti could do nothing but wonder what the Sphinx her surrogate brother meant by that as he rushed back into the building with a goal in mind that only he was aware of. To anyone else, he might as well have lost his marbles.

* * *

The sounds of nature were often calming to most, she knew this first hand. She woke to the sound of the birds announcing the rising of their morning sun with their sweet sun, the soft rustling of the breeze through the treetops helped settle her in for an afternoon nap, the gentle pitter-patter of raindrops on the forest canopy often lulled her to slumber. More foreign noises such as the haunting song of the humpback whale, the tender lapping of the crashing waves, and the muffled domain of the ocean abyss would often calm her when she was frazzled and over stressed.

It wasn't working now.

Everywhere she looked she was reminded of her imperfections, that she was considered an absolute abomination by everyone she came across. She down at her monstrous hands and gave a sigh that came out more as a threatening growl when she remembered how they had once looked, many times smaller and with five, perfect digits for exploring their world. Now they were gigantic anathemas of their former selves, twisted into powerful instruments of destruction that could nothing but crush everything in their path. She shifted uncomfortably at the feeling of her tail unconsciously swishing low across the ground, just high enough for the blades of grass to continuously tickle her thick, armor-plated skin with every movement. The sound of her toxic saliva dripping from her mangled maw and onto the ground was a noise that was steadily driving her crazy as she attempted to horribly mutated jaw into a more suitable – though highly uncomfortable – position that should have made it look less like she required braces.

It was the faces that made her feel the most discomfort. She didn't fully understand what had happened to her in those moments where she had been locked away in her own head, unable to do anything but watch as she laid waste to everything around her without fully comprehending what she was doing; it was like how a child that didn't know killing was wrong thought that it was nothing more than a fun game to play. She hadn't give much thought to what would have become of the structures around her as she reduced them to rubble or the innocent victims that were too foolish to get in her way. All she had understood were the most primitive of instincts:

 _Kill._

 _Adapt._

 _Survive._

A long examination of her new form proved she had gone above and beyond of what had been expected of her body. How this was even possible, she didn't know and she didn't care, she just wanted to go back to way things were. She had woken up this morning with the false precognition that it would be like any other day at Monster High. She of course, had never even taken in account that she would suddenly grow into a horrible creature of utter devastation that made even her boyfriend – the one person she trusted more than anyone else in the world – turn against her.

It was like the cruel, twisted fate of irony that her boyfriend had spoken so cautiously of that he was the one that was forced to do her in and defeat her like one of his own enemies. She hadn't recognized him through her intense lust for blood and she now realized that he had no choice but to put the lives of many over her own life, no matter how much either of them disliked it; it was the hero's code he had taken years before when he had begun to take his new responsibilities as Protector of Earth seriously.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt though, how easily he was prepared to take her down if necessary.

She looked down at her hands once more and felt extreme anger build up within her; it was this stupid . . . curse's fault! Why of all monsters had she been plagued by this sudden mutation, treated like a mad doctor's science experiment, and twisted beyond all recognition to the one that she loved more than anything in the world had been unable to recognize her and was forced to treat her like the monster she was.

 _Monster._

That's what she was now. She was the true definition of what the normies saw as a monster, a creature so ugly or monstrous that it frightened people by appearance alone and made them full on flee in terror when they saw what it was capable of. That was what she hated about most normies, that they were too shallow to look beyond physical appearance before they even made judgments, but when it came to her . . . they were right to judge. She was beyond normal, beyond abnormal. Her own monster brethren had fled at the mere sight of her and she honestly couldn't blame them. For who could love a beast like her?

" _Jane? Jane! Where are you?_ "

She perked up at the sound of her name, unable to identify the voice for a split second before dread came crashing on her like a tidal wave of despair. It had taken her little less than a month of intense and rigorous studying of her quarry before they had become false mates for her to learn what his transformations sounded like, but she had quickly caught on and was able to determine any one of them with little difficulty; the one currently looking for her was extra trouble for her, at least in this current case, as it was beyond fast and if she didn't leave soon and find a place to hide, he would be upon her within seconds.

" _Jane!_ "

If she had vocal cords and actually knew any words of profanity she would have cursed herself for being too slow and for a certain Kineceleran for being far too fast for her own good. With a sudden and quick motion she rose to her feet and rounded on the approaching extraterrestrial just as he came to a screeching stop before her in a blur of black and blue that her eyes only just barely managed to keep track of. She was naturally uneasy around him, especially after their last encounter where he had no choice but to attack her and had paid the price for it; she couldn't be around him for the sake of his own safety, that much was clear to her.

XLR8 cocked his head and shifted his grip on what appeared to be old, worn, leather journal to her that he kept tucked under his arm. "Jane, listen to me for just a second, alright? Please?"

The monstrous mutant bellowed a warning threat as she slammed her knuckle and the tremendous crustacean claw against the ground in an intimidating gesture that was meant to scare off most rivals or foes. It worked quite well on animals that tried to encroach on another's territory and thus help reduced the amount of fighting and risk of getting injured one might have to take in order to expand their domain. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to apply to the Kineceleran at all while he just stood there, not budging an inch forwards or backwards in the slightest.

"Jane, we both know that's not going to work." XLR8 frowned.

This didn't stop her from trying a more intimidating tactic, this time deciding to fan her wings out to increase her size to more threatening levels and blast out a warning shot of fiery, hot chemicals that would be horribly painful upon contact. The grass at her feet burst into flame as a response, but she ignored the hundreds of echoing voices in her head that told her to move away from the searing heat; as long as there was something between her and her former lover, that was all that mattered.

It thus came to her great disappointment when she blinked and noticed that Kineceleran was no longer standing on the other side of the wall of flame but was instead spinning in a tight circle around the fire, creating a vacuum of sorts that quickly removed the crackling coal's fuel source and thus dwindled it down to a dying spark in by a few seconds. By the time Jane had fully registered what was happening, XLR8 had zipped back into the exact spot from where he had been mere seconds before, not an inch difference in any direction.

"C'mon, Jane," the Kineceleran pleaded as he tapped the Omnitrix fused to his chest with his blade-like claws. A blast of green energy engulfed the alacritous alien, forcing a time out from the extraterrestrial metamorphic device and returning Ben to the world with as solemn and calming of an expression as he could muster. "Let me help you."

The monstrous mutation growled sourly and turned her back on him, plopping herself down onto the ground with a loud huff.

Ben sighed and lay the worn, old book he had tucked under his arm onto the grass, taking a few steps forward until he received a loud, rumbling hiss that told him not to come any closer. "Jane, please, don't be like this." he tried to reason with.

Before he could properly react in time, the beast that had formerly been his ghoulfriend whirled around and slammed her gargantuan fist and mighty claw against the ground with her wings flared and spread wide and her powerful tail cracking loudly against a tree, splintering the trunk into wood chips. Her eyes flared red with pure rage and her mangled maw swung open into a gaping pit of abyssal blackness lined with row after row of horribly crooked teeth from which the toxic saliva hung down from like stalactites in a cave. A ferocious roar erupted from her throat, shattering the still air like glass and nearly knocking Ben flat on his butt from the sheer volume that blew his hair back in all directions.

"No, I don't think you're ugly." he told her with an even tone once he was sure he could hear once more. To be honest, he hadn't understood a single word the gigantic creature had bellowed at him – not like the way she once could – but he had gotten the gist enough that he could take a guess at what she was trying to convey. Jane was absolutely disgusted her new and unexpected appearance, but more importantly she was afraid that she would be considered horrifying beyond all reason by the one she loved.

Jane didn't seem to believe him and shivered her jaw at him accusingly, her teeth bared and her hackles raised with her claws extended. Toxic saliva dripped from her maw, hissing softly against the grass beneath her feet and the quills upon her back rattled loud in a threatening gesture; she wasn't buying his tricks. How could someone as successful, as wonderful, as _perfect_ as him ever hold affections for someone as revolting, as terrifying, as downright hideous as her?

Ben sighed and took a step forward, halting in his tracks when the increase in volume from the beast warned him not to move another inch closer. "Jane, listen to me," he took a breath before he began to speak. "I don't care what you look like. I don't care if you have fangs. I don't care if you horns. I don't care if you have claws. I don't care if you have tusks, wings, quills, drool so horribly it makes Mr. Hackington look like he actually has manners, or a tail that could smash boulders like they're eggs . . . but I care about you. I _love_ you more than anything else I can possibly ever know. And I'm not going to just let any random change in your physical appearance change any of that. Not now, not ever."

The gigantic collection of random animal parts that was Jane at one point rumbled softly after what seemed to be an eternity of silence, as if to shyly ask if he really meant all of that.

The response she got was for Ben to take a few more steps forward and place his hands on either side of her gigantic skull, starring long and deeply into her eyes as he rested his forehead against her mighty cranium. The massive monster sighed with content and leaned into the small hug, her powerful senses taking in every last detail of him from his scent to the steady beating of his pulse and heart. "Evert last word, Sweet Mango. Every last word."

Jane shivered her jaw with appreciation and nuzzled him affectionately, crooning softly when she gave him a small lick with the tip of her tongue that was thankfully free of the corrosive toxins in her saliva. Nonetheless, Ben playfully recoiled in disgust and wiped the offending substance form his face.

"Alright, easy, easy!" he chided her teasingly while she bumped him with her head. Ben rolled his eyes and gave her a pleasant feeling "I know I said I'd love you no matter what you look like, but I'm going to guess you'd like your old self back now, huh?"

Jane growled sadly, her massive frame drooping with disappointment.

Ben's smile split across his face into a proud and clever grin. "Well, believe it or not, it's actually not that difficult."

The grunt of surprise and disbelief from the beast that had formerly been known as Jane could not have been more humorous with all six of her eyes wide open in shock and amazement. She crooned urgently for him to continue, to tell her how to possibly reverse the transfiguration that had transformed beyond recognition. She didn't care what it was or what she had to do – she trusted Ben with her life and well being and trusted that he had no reason to harm in any way intentionally – in order to get her original form back, she just wanted to be back in Ben's arms once more and never let go, possible excruciating pain be damned.

"Admittedly, it took me a bit – or should I say Grey Matter – to figure what was going on," Ben began as he briefly parted from Jane and walked back across the clearing to pick up the old, leather journal he had been carrying with him earlier, making Jane cock her head with low grunt of curiosity. "But it turns out that this is all actually perfectly natural for you – or more specifically, your species." he added while he quickly flipped through the yellowed pages of the book.

Jane knelt her massive bulk down and peered with her three pairs of eyes down at the worn pages of the journal that Ben had stopped on. She was unable to make out the writing in her current state, but it was the ancient sketches and drawings and diagrams that caught her attention. Towards the bottom of the left page with several notes and additions on the side were four drawings of strangely humanoid creatures, two of which seemed to be adults of opposite genders while the other two were adolescent and of conflicting sexes as well; it seemed like a whole family of sorts. The four creatures were scantily clad in what looked to be somewhat primitive clothing carefully crafted and woven from a mixture of dyed fabrics and grasses and leaves in which feathers, teeth, bones, and skulls were also incorporated, clearly attire suited well for a tribe buried deep within the depths of a forgotten jungle.

"According to this, there was a species of monster previously unknown to science located deep within the Afreakan jungles that held the belief that all souls – normie, monster, and animal – were linked together in spiritual way that let the souls travel between bodies upon death. It says here that they were so closely connected to the natural world that they all naturally possessed the ability to talk to animals without much difficulty and, as if that weren't enough . . . they were even capable of transforming into animals at will." Ben explained, letting the last pieces of information sink in.

The reaction from Jane was just what he was hoping for while he watched Jane stare intently at the yellowed pages of the journal with keen interest, specifically the sketches of the four specimens located at the bottom. She raised her gigantic hand rested a massive finger on the ancient page, looking closely at the eyes of the young woman with great curiosity. Even if the sketches had been of a lower quality or fallen to the jaws of time, the eyes were unmistakable; they were like her own, crystal blue orbs. She suddenly wanted to know, for Ben to show her more about the strangers that were like her.

Ben chuckled a little at her awed look. "Yeah, the guy thinks that they're ability to talk to animals was linked to their shape-shifting powers, that because they were animals at some point in their lives they learned the language; something about an unstable genetic code or other." he muttered more to himself out of thought than lecture before waving it off. "But here's the real kicker. According to this, when these guys reached a certain age, they underwent a huge transformation of sorts that turned them into gigantic, mutated monsters who only thoughts are to kill and destroy. It's like the most awkward period of puberty you can think of."

Jane shifted uncomfortably at that, though it was more out of Ben's choice of words than his unusual analogy. But then again, he hadn't described her in a negative light, purely stating the obvious facts that she needed to know and avoiding personally describing her while doing so. Nevertheless, it made her quills quiver restlessly against her divergent wings.

Thankfully, her boyfriend took note of this and was quick to comfort her. "Hey, hey, don't worry. There's a cure, too." he explained soothingly while pointing towards the text. "It says here that these kind of things usually happen over a week or so – which mostly involves being forced to chain up those that are affected for everyone's safety – but there are cases where it's drastically shortened, usually by some passive shock of some kind. Once their mind is clear and their in control of themselves again, they _should_ be able to turn back to normal with a thought." he reassured her when he felt her massive frame pressed up against his own in anxiety.

"That sound simple enough to you?" Ben asked.

Jane snorted, blowing his chocolate hair back with her hot breath. It _did_ sound simple enough, perhaps a little _too_ simple for something as complex as exchanging one's form for another body entirely. As easy as it was for Ben himself to transform with the Omnitrix, the metamorphic device was incredibly complex even for alien technology – even her boyfriend didn't fully comprehend its inner workings and it had taken him the better part of nearly a decade to master the complexity of its original prototype. But Ben utilized a device to morph between different transformations and all it took was for him to simply press a button, as simple as a transfiguration as it could be. She on the other hand, had to change her entire body by _herself_ with no advice of any kind to help her.

She was then reminded that she still had someone to support her when Ben gave her misshapen muzzle a comforting pat. "Come on, I know you can do this. If you can talk some sense into an overexcited, stray manticore laying waste to the deli, you can handle this."

The beast that had previously been Jane did indeed remember that little incident. A stray manticore had wandered into a supermarket on the normie side of New Salem and had all but instantly laid waste to the grocery store's deli, devouring all the meat and chasing after customers that got too close. Ben had been called in to try and take care of the situation by the reluctant sheriff when the manticore's poisonous barbs prevented his men getting any closer, and she had hastily followed out of concern over the creature's well being. After a quick scuffle between her boyfriend and the animal that had demolished a good portion of the supermarket – in Ben's defense, it wouldn't have happened had he not been turned into a bite-sized Splixson – she had bravely stepped between a cowering Ditto and certain death and talked down the hungry manticore into grabbing one last shank of ham before following her back out of the store and into the open air.

Any monster would have called her insane for even getting anywhere near a manticore without protection. With the sharp claws and jaws and raw strength of a lion, the powerful and mighty wings of a dragon, and the ever dangerous threat that was the monstrous scorpion tail that fired off poisonous barbs that instantly became invisible upon being launched, it was suicidal to even consider trying to take down such a beast without proper equipment, training, and a lot of luck. And yet, she had done it with none of those and had done what not even her boyfriend could do, regardless of whether he had been turned into a bite-sized alien or not.

Jane grunted with agreement and pressed her head against Ben's frame, relaxing at his touch while she closed all six of her eyes. She inhaled a slow, deep breath to calm and ready herself before she began to clear her mind of all outside thoughts and worries, blocking out the trivial concerns that ran rampant in her mind and focusing on an image in her mind. She focused her attention on an image of herself, her old self, remembering how she used to have sensitive, violet skin that Ben loved to tease and pleasure with his comforting touch. She remembered how she use to have hair and curls as dark as the shadows snaking their way through the undergrowth of the jungle that she loved to have her boyfriend's fingers run through after a stressful day. She remembered how she use to have those soft lips that Ben would kiss so tenderly and fill with her a euphoria beyond description; the changes were slow to begin.

Her immense frame cracked and warped just the slightest, as if it were trying to resist her attempts before finally giving in. The bulky, bone plating that had layered itself over her broad back and shoulders splintered and cracked with some impedance while it softened and became more malleable; the bony knobs that dotted her back were flattened into the receding armor. The razor-sharp fangs of her horrible mangled mouth were forced back into her a sickening crunching noise that set her nerves on edge while her mutated muzzle was pushed back into her skull to form a more rounded facial structure. The heavy, bone-crushing tail was slowly absorbed back into her spine, the _Stegosaurus_ thagomizers and the crushing club of the _Ankylosaurus_ softening like mush and disappearing with a low slurping sound. Jane's gigantic frame continued to shrink as the shark-like dorsal fins and porcupine-like quills dissolved into her spinal cord while the dexterous cephalopod tentacle hanging off her right shoulder deflated with a high, whining noise and slurped back up into her body.

By now Jane was half the size she had once been, going from an enormous twenty feet tall down to nearly half of that with a series of unnerving pops and cracks from her skeletal structure. The shaggy mane of thick, mauve hair was shed and replaced with familiar head of untamed, curly magenta and pomegranate locks that snapped back into a ponytail that reached down to her shoulders. Her skull adjusted itself and took on humanoid form, forcing four of her six eyes to close and disappear as delicate, lilac skin layered over them; a cute, squashed nose erupted from about the middle of her face right above a pair of full, pink lips behind which a perfect set of teeth were taking place of nest of fangs. The coarse, violent hair of her gorilla-like left arm was sucked back into her body like thousands of spaghetti strands as the tremendous, powerful muscles deflated and withered dramatically back to their original form. Jane's antelope-like ears shrank and became more like rounded disks when the tufts of caracal fur at their tips was lost and her senses dulled significantly.

The jungle ghoul suppressed a low groan when she felt her mismatched wings flutter helplessly before they suddenly lashed and spread out to their full span before giving wild, involuntarily jerks and flaps as their joints were realigned adjusted into something new. They shrank and folded themselves back into her shoulder blades with a series of disgusting crunches and the sound of wet flesh slapping against itself until they were all but forgotten about. The abomination that was the gigantic crustacean claw of her right arm splintered along its edges, the thick carapace cracking open like an egg as the soft flesh inside oozed and bubbled out to enveloped the jagged remains; it was a horrific display, but eventually Jane's right arm shriveled up and withered back to its original form complete with all four fingers and thumb. The curved talons of her feet snapped as they were forced in on themselves, taking on the form of small, cute toes while the crusty, lavender scales covering her legs melted back into her skin. The last thing to change were the very anathemas that started it all: the curved, ram-like horns that sprouted from her skull slowly curled back in on themselves with a loud splintering and crunching noise, each ring disappearing one after the other until finally, mercifully they had vanished.

Jane finally opened her eyes after what felt like an excruciating eternity of waiting and released the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. With shaking hands she reached up to touch her face, feeling all ten of her digits cautiously caress her cheeks and tentatively poke her nose and run themselves through her hair. She looked down at herself and found herself to be wearing the tattered and ragged remains of her clothing that clung and hugged her frail body, her feet bare and her lilac skin feeling a bit nippy in the spots where it was exposed to the breeze.

The jungle ghoul would have been absolutely embarrassed had she not been so relieved. She felt sudden drops of moisture trickle down her cheeks and she realized that she was crying tears of joy and before she knew it she was suddenly pulled into a strong, warm embrace that she was more than ready to lean into; her body ached and she was tired beyond belief, but she was happy. Jane began to sob even harder, laughing all the while as she buried herself into Ben's chest and returned the hug full force, wanting to hang onto and never let go of him ever again. She was feeling a sudden rush of emotions that came crashing down on her like a tidal wave, everything from relief and joy to fear and anxiety.

It was Ben that broke the silence after the two of them just stood there together in the clearing together, Jane relying more on him to support her quivering legs while she attempted to rest in his loving embrace. "You gonna be alright?" he asked, gently running his strong fingers through her hair.

The jungle ghoul gave a low sigh at the calming feeling that slowly crept its way through her tired body and she nodded sleepily. "Y-Yes . . . I believe so . . ."

"That's a relief," Ben allowed a small smile as he softly kissed her temple, his lips feeling like ice against her hot skin. "For a second there, I thought I'd lose you."

"What are y-you going on about . . ?" Jane wondered without paying much attention to what was actually being said. She was too exhausted to really care and too focused on tenderly peppering her boyfriend's neck and collarbone with her own lips to return the favor.

Ben shifted his stance so that he could support his ghoulfriend better. "Back when during your little . . . episode," he explained. "Bloodgood said that she was going to have to call the police to try and stop you from hurting anyone. I managed to talk her into giving me some more time in trying to take you down myself . . ."

Jane sighed and hugged her boyfriend a little tighter, inhaling his erotic scent. "I'm glad you w-were able to stop me . . . I don't want to hurt anyone . . ."

"I was more worried about them hurting you," Ben whispered in her ear, hugging her a little tighter. "You know what those goons are like. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt and I couldn't do anything to stop it."

The jungle ghoul felt a slight smile cross her lips. "I think you're over exaggerating a bit, Ben." she giggled slightly, already feeling significantly more rested than before. "After what I've been through, what's the worst that could happen?"

Before Ben could even begin to curse the universe out for turning the peaceful moment on its head at the sound of those six, fateful words the shrill whiny of an equine above the thundering chorus of hoofbeats and dozens upon dozens of footsteps from which dozens more panicked voices sounded off above in a chaotic cacophony of pandemonium. Jane felt Ben instinctively hold her tighter, his eyes narrowing and his pulse racing as he tried to pinpoint the source of the noise with his woefully pathetic senses – at least, compared to that of a werewolf or even herself. She pressed herself a little closer into her boyfriend's frame, her eyes nervously flickering about as a series of feelings and emotions bubbled up inside her; the jungle ghoul nearly felt her heart stop when she realized that it was the whispering, raspy voices in her head once more, the same ones she had heard before she had lost herself to her new identity.

But oddly enough, they behaved. The hundreds upon millions of voices swirling around like a swarm of wasps in her head stayed back in the corners of her mind, only offering bits and pieces of advice instead of rushing to take control. Some were significantly more persistent than others and were more aggressive in their suggestions, but they respectfully backed off when she pleaded with them. It soon came to her that these voices in her head were the instincts and minds of billions of different animals, each one different than the last and using her as a host; she glanced down at her hand and briefly contemplated the full extent of her new powers . . . would she be able to use them now?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the brush surrounding the clearing was suddenly crashed down by an innumerable number of armed men and women in what looked like to be something akin to modified riot gear of sorts. The armored padding was colored a deep black layered over a nearly indistinguishable blue that made the two colors almost bleed together into a solid color. Plating was placed over the joints, arms, legs, chest, back, neck, shoulders, and even groin area of the suits with a skin-tight balaclava pulled over each individual's head; any vision seemed to be hidden behind a pair of goggles and each man or woman – it was hard to tell which was which – carried with a utility belt full of various weapons.

Ben immediately tensed up and climbed to his feet with his fists clenched and his stance defensive as the squad of mysteriously clothed individuals hurriedly rolled and tumbled and scrambled to form a tight ring around him and Jane, their stances ready to suddenly leap into battle should the need arise. A loud snort of annoyance caught his attention and he looked up to see Headmistress Bloodgood come riding up on Nightmare with an anxious and perturbed expression on her features while in the company of someone that Ben particularly loathed.

"Sheriff Frederick 'Brick' Jones," Ben glared sourly at the middle-aged man that sauntered his way almost arrogantly past Headmistress Bloodgood and what he assumed to be his men or a specialized force of sorts. He had aging, brown hair and a coarse, handlebar mustache that was almost always stained with the faint aroma of coffee and donuts. His usual attire, consisting of his standard police uniform, had been replaced by a significantly less unique riot outfit complete with extra padding and armor that Ben knew could take a good blow if placed sloppily enough. "How's the mustache?"

" _Ben Tennyson_ ," the Sheriff snarled, narrowing his eyes at the wielder of the Omnitrix. "I mighta known you'd be behind this. And for your information, my mustache didn't grow back as quickly as you said it would."

"Hey, it's not my fault that your facial hair suddenly decided to catch fire while I was Heatblast. I _told_ you stay back, but did you listen?" Ben rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what's with the outfits? Some sort of new dress code?" he scoffed.

Sheriff Jones frowned. "For your information, they're a little somethin' I've been workin' on to keep your little monster . . . _friends_ . . . in line, the next time they think they can try to make a fool out of me on Halloween." he growled before getting back to the matter at hand. "Now because I'm a nice guy, I'll give you _one_ chance to surrender quietly: hand over the girl and no one gets hurt."

Ben gritted his teeth and tightly clenched his fists. "And just what makes you think I'm going to just let you take her away? It's not her fault she lost control of powers she didn't even know she had. How would you like it if you suddenly discovered you could shoot lasers out of your eyes or something and didn't know how to control them?"

Much to his surprise, it was Headmistress Bloodgood that spoke up. "Ben, please . . . I know you and the Police Department don't get along very well, but try to understand that they're trying to do what's best for New Salem. Until Jane can get her new powers under control, she's a danger to everyone around her, even you. She could suddenly transform at any moment and go on another rampage and hurt someone without even realizing it." the dullahan tried to reason with her surrogate son in as pleading of a tone that emphasized she didn't like the decision either.

"Oh, yeah? Well what about what's best for her!?" Ben snapped, gesturing towards Jane who had been frightfully cowering at his feet and anxiously keeping watch over the ring of armed men; was it just her or were they starting to get closer? She could feel her heart racing while her eyes flickered to watch their every movement and she instinctively scooted a little closer to Ben. "Do you really think sticking her in a cage for who knows how long is going to make her any better of a person!?"

The Sheriff scoffed. "Kid, that girl ain't no person. That girl is a _monster_." he growled as he flipped down the visor of his helmet; he was quickly losing his patience. "I'm not going to repeat myself again: hand over the girl or we'll take her by force."

"And I'm not going to repeat myself either," Ben growled as he tapped the Omnitrix and slammed a hand down on the activation core. Muscles quickly piled themselves onto his arms and chest as his skin began to blister horribly until short, brown feathers crawled up his arms and legs, turning a lighter shade of brown on his chest and stomach; his mouth and nose melted together like butter, hardening into a yellow, horny beak as teeth lined the inside. The feathers continued to cover his body, racing up over his back and stomach, growing on nearly every inch of his body while Ben's wrists and bakles began to harden as thick scales took form from his skin, his fingers grinding and crunching when they molded together into three digits. His fingers grew longer and bigger, becoming curved, black talons as his toes all formed together into a pair of long, sharp talons while his heel bone popped out in the form of a third toe. A white plume erupted from Ben's head, looking something like a mohawk of sorts while a pair of large, sharp blades thrust out for his elbows. Green wrist and ankle guards, a pair of black briefs, and a green and white belt materialized on his body as a green mask and strap vest manifested on his face and chest, the Omnitrix appearing on the later's vest hooker.

"You ain't touchin' her." Kickin Hawk growled angrily, his talons balling into fists.

"Sherrif, please, there has to be-" Headmistress Bloodgood tried to reason before she was cut off with a quick motion of the Sheriff's hand.

The lawman was at his wit's end. "Not now, Blood," he snarled. "This little punk's gonna finally get what's comin' to him, whether you like it or not."

All it took was but a single movement of his hand for the squad of specially trained agents surged forward with a single, fluid motion. About half of them rushed straight at Kickin Hawk in an attempt to subdue them, a tactic that proved to be somewhat more difficult when the alien avian took out three of them with a single roundhouse kick; the three individuals were sent sprawling across the ground, momentarily dazed. With a loud screech, he whirled around and slugged a squad member across the face, knocking them out with a single punch and roughly grabbing them by the shoulders. He then spun back around and hurled the unfortunate person back at the three individuals he had knocked to the ground, furthering their time out of the fight once their fallen comrade landed (painfully) upon them.

"Who's next!? Kickin Hawk shrieked angrily.

He quickly got his answer when he was suddenly attacked from behind, a pair of arms wrapping tightly around his throat and a pair of arms encircling around his waist for extra anchorage. The alien avian could feel what felt like a knife of sorts – made of silver no doubt if the task force's prime motive wasn't mistaken – being held to his throat; this only briefly concerned him. Before his attacker could even attempt to threaten him any further, he was suddenly grabbed by the head by Kickin Hawk's vice-like talons and torn free before being chucked at two more of his teammates that attempted to whip out their riffles. The knife harmlessly fell to the ground where Kickin Hawk quickly scooped it up and hurled it at one of the squad members that had managed to get too close to Jane, the blade cutting through the material of their outfit and pinning them firmly to the tree trunk behind them.

The alien avian was suddenly slammed from behind and tackled to the ground, caught off guard as the dozens of remaining troopers dogpiled onto him and quickly restrained his arms and legs. A pair of squad members were scrambling to pull out what he might have guessed to be hand and ankle cuffs of some kind in an effort to further incapacitate him which, due to their credit, was quite clever; unfortunately, it only made Kickin Hawk fight even harder, forcing more and more troopers to jump on him to keep him down.

Jane's heart was hammering in her chest now as she frantically glanced back and forth between her struggling boyfriend and the squad troopers that were steadily approaching her, circling around her like one might approach an aggressive dog. Even with their raised hands and nonthreatening stature she could easily sense that their dispositions lied and betrayed their true intent: they were going to capture her. They were going to hurt her. They were going to beat her, torture her, and stick her in a cage for their own amusement.

Worst of all however, they were going to take her away from Ben.

That thought alone made her bear her teeth as a guttural growl from the back of her throat escaped her lips; the squad members briefly hesitated at the unorthodox sound before approaching more quickly, dropping their facade and hurriedly scrambling for their weapons, lest their target suddenly become hostile.

But that was thing. For once in her life, Jane _wanted_ to be hostile. She wanted to attack those men and women would hid behind their masks, to rake her claws through their flesh, to tear out their throats with her teeth, to crush into sad bags of broken bone and mutilated flesh, she wanted to inject them with horrible, chemical concoctions that would make them melt from the inside out. Sphinx, she wanted to _murder_ them. And for once, ever since her day had been turned on it's head by a series of unfortunate events, the voices in her head shared her sympathies; they were one.

It wasn't until she licked her lips and noticed that her teeth felt sharper did she realize that her body was beginning to change and for once, it didn't frighten her; she let it consume her and change her into something more powerful than she had ever hoped to be. The first thing to change was her facial structure, the bones cracking and crunching with sickening noise as they thrust outwards into a furry muzzle and push her lips and nose out. The jungle ghoul's eyes turned a dark amber in color while they shifted just a little more ways apart on her morphing head as her teeth ground and sharpened into spike-like fangs. Her neck thickened as muscles threaded and weaved themselves together, creating a powerful bite force when they hooked up to her jaws and even stronger muscles when they traveled down her arms and legs and back. Jane felt her fingers shorten and fuse together slightly while her nails turned into dull, sharp claws as a joints and skeletal structure began to readjust itself. Her skin began to horribly blister and itch and she watched as layer after layer of thick, lilac and mauve fur sprouted all over her body, wrapping around her like a thick coat and accelerating the transfiguration. Her ears grew sensitive and sharp when they rotated to the top of her skull and her legs reconfigured for more push and power than support as a long, furry tail popped out at the base of her spine, completing the transformation.

With a ferocious roar the lavender wolf whirled around and lunged at a trooper that attempted to grab her from behind, her jaws clamping tightly onto his and her fangs sinking deep into the armored padding protecting his vulnerable skin. The man screamed as he went down and she shook her head, sending stuffing flying as she then jumped up onto him and slammed him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

Jane felt herself instantaneously shift and morph into something new. Her skull crunched with a sickening noise as her her jaws were forced to protrude outwards slightly, puckering her lips in the process; her canine teeth cracked and shifted in her gums as they grew longer and more pointed, like railroad spikes. Her frame shrank and grew smaller and smaller with a series of snapping and popping from her skeletal structure and the sloshing and squelching of her organs as they dwindled and rearranged themselves, diminishing until she was less than half her original size. Short, coarse, periwinkle fur sprouted all over her body in rippling waves that created an irritating itching sensation just beneath her skin that was begging to be scratched. The jungle ghouls felt her spine arch and adjust itself, forcing her down on her hands and feet while a long, limp tail spat itself out from the base of her spine. Any hair that covered her face, hands, feet, and posterior was quickly lost in favor of dark, mauve skin, completing the transfiguration.

The squad members yelped with surprise when the olive baboon used their fallen comrade as a springboard and leaped straight at them, slamming her opposable feet into the chest of one trooper and immediately spun around to nail the second in the face with her fist. The primate then descended upon the two fallen individual's and went absolutely berserk, relentlessly beating her powerful fists against their frail, armored bodies and succeeding in leaving very painful bruises. And when she got tired of that she resorted to tearing the armor free with her dexterous hands and sharp teeth, using her dagger-like canines to stab repeatedly into the padding. She then finished them off by dislocating one of their arms each and then breaking three fingers on the opposite hand before furiously biting their leg.

 _Bang! Bang!_

The baboon screeched as she narrowly dodged a bullet fired at her feet as a warning shot. She ignored the threat entirely and rushed straight at the foolish officer that had tried to shoot her, just barely leaping and weaving through the bullets that they tried to shoot at her before she pounced on them and tore into them with ease. Their screams of terror and pain were music to her ears as she tore off the protective vest and attacked their chest, breaking at least a couple ribs and leaving severe bruises before she ended the combo attack with a rough bounce on the individual's lap; the pathetic whimper indicated that the unfortunate trooper was indeed a man.

" _Jane!_ Look out!" Kickin Hawk screeched from beneath the pile of troopers.

The primate screeched as she whirled around to confront a foolish trooper that had tried to sneak up on her from behind; once again, she felt the familiar feeling envelope her body as she was morphed once more. Jane's bones ground and cracked against one another, her form growing smaller and more squat in appearance. Power muscles and tendons stretched themselves along the length of her her legs followed shortly up by a thicker layer of tough, keratin scale. The jungle ghoul's arms snapped into awkward, uncomfortable positions while they adjusted themselves through minute changes and shifts until they were small and pressed against her chest. Her fingernails tore through her toes as they grew into wicked talons with a sickle-like growth and edge to them that labeled them as weapons of mass destruction if used correctly. Jane's skeleton was shifted around, forcing her legs to re-position and hold her her body level to the ground by a breastbone that acted as an anchor to her weak, developing arm muscles. A familiar itching sensation rippled its way across her body followed closely by layer after layer of deep mauve, quill-like feathers that hung off her steadily obese form while her throat was pulled out to a long dimension. Her skull crunched heavily as her teeth were absorbed into her jaws, her lips were pushed out into a short, slightly curved beak, and a blade-like crest rose from the top of her head, completing the transformation.

The foolish trooper had approximately two seconds to scream bloody murder before the cassowary went absolutely nuts on him.

Kickin Hawk could do nothing but stare in utter and complete amazement as he watched Jane go absolutely berserk on the poor men, leaping straight at him and whipping her powerful legs out to kick him square in the chest. The blow alone was enough to knock the air out of him and heavily bruise his chest through the padded armor, but those wicked talons reduced his armored vest to shreds with two quick jabs. The man went down and the flightless bird was upon him a second time, furiously pecking him with her beak and ruthlessly attacking him with her knife-like talons.

From atop her trusty steed, Headmistress Bloodgood noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sheriff Jones was slowly reaching for his holster where a pistol was hooked to his belt. Her blood immediately ran cold and her temper flared as she she hurriedly dismounted Nightmare and rushed over to the sheriff, tightly grabbing onto his arm with a vice-like grip. "Don't you even dare!" she hissed.

"Get your freaky fingers off me, woman!" the Sheriff spat, struggling against the dullahan's grip.

"You are attempting to shoot one, potentially _two_ of my students!" Bloodgood argued angrily.

She could tell that the officer was getting more and more annoyed with her by the minute. It was a miracle he had even tolerated her presence this long, even if she was one of the few monsters that could walk on the normie side of New Salem and not raise too much panic so long as her visits were brief and to the point. "I have a right to! They are attacking my men and have resisted arrest!"

"After _you_ threatened them!"

"You were in agreement with me, you witch!" Sheriff Jones grunted he gave a quick jerk of his arm in an attempt to pull the gun out of Bloodgood's grip.

"I thought you would at least try and reason with them instead of making things worse- _AH!_ " the dullahan cried out as the sheriff finally managed to wretch his weapon from her grasp and clobber her across the face, sending her falling to the ground as she clutched her bleeding nose. He then attempted to aim it at the rapidly moving shape-shifter when an enraged whinny caught his attention and Nightmare came rushing to the aid of her owner, ramming her head into the officers side and knocking his weapon away before the monstrous equine proceeded to trample over him, her nostrils snorting and flaring with flame.

Through the tangle of legs and hooves, the watched in awe and terror as the shape-shifting mass of hyper-kinetic and highly destructive energy that was Jane Boolittle brutally attacked his specialized squad of shock troops designed specifically to handle any situations involving the monsters that stalked and haunted the other side of New Salem her unfortunately had to keep law and order in. They were specially trained to take on any and all things related to the monsters, everything from rampaging dragons to hordes of shuffling zombies and all armed with the latest in monster protection weaponry; protective armor and padding designed to withstand an enraged minotaur charge; automatic attack pistols and rifles with silver bullets for bloodthirsty werewolves; reflective goggles for hideous gorgons; grenades full of garlic powder for homicidal vampires; tasers with enough juice to short out barbaric, reanimated corpses; and of course, the standard knives and blades for doing combat with ruthless zombies.

All of that went down the drain in less than a second as Jane leaped into the fray with wild savagery. He watched with wide eyes and slack jaw as the cassowary whirled around and instantaneously morphed into a powerful panther, slamming a pair of his unlucky men and reducing them to blubbering, quivering messes with a few swipes of her razor-sharp claws and an ear-splitting roar from her jaws. The wild cat then pounced upon another foolish trooper and shifted into the form of an octopus in midair, colliding straight with the individual's face and latching on with her powerful arms and suckers; the woman gave a muffled scream and ran about completely blind until she collided with one of her armored brethren and slumped to the ground, unconscious. The irritated cephalopod was then replaced with the growing form with a heavily armored and annoyed rhinoceros that proceeded to hurl herself straight at the pile of squad members holding down Kickin Hawk, colliding with them all like a bowling ball striking down bowling pins.

It was pure and utter chaos from there on out. Like a fed Wuju Bladesman with one too many lenses in his goggles, the jungle ghoul leaped between the scattered officials with such speed and agility that it was nigh impossible for Headmistress Bloodgood and Sheriff Jones to follow her. The highly trained men and women fell one by one, their armor and weapons destroyed, their dignity shattered, and fear etched into their petrified eyes as they fell to the ground, unconscious or still alive and wallowing in the pain that coursed through their aching bodies by savage bites and powerful claws. Not even Kickin Hawk, with his keen eyes that were capable of picking up on the most minute of muscle twitches, were able to keep up with Jane as she bounced between the group of panicked officials like a pinball of doom.

It was at that moment, as Jane morphed into a gigantic alligator and clamped her vice-like jaws around the leg of an unfortunate woman that was trying desperately to pry the enormous reptile off of her, that the Kickin Hawk realized he had never been more proud of his ghoulfriend since the day they had first gotten together. He had attempted time and time again to try and get her to experience the world on her own without him always being there by her side – it was bound to happen at some point – but time and time again her anxiety would get the best of her and she would come running back to him scared out of her wits. Now, as she morphed into a small swift to evade the gunshots of a terrified squad trooper only to then turn into a giant anteater to shred their padded back with her claws, did he realize that he had not only managed to come out of her shell, she had come racing right out of it like a Wuju Bladesman activating his Highlander.

Granted, he probably could have done without all the pitiful screaming and whimpering from the terrified shock troops, but then again that just made Jane all the more attractive to him, knowing very well that lurking beneath the facade of an overly shy jungle ghoul lay the pounding heart of a primal warrior that beat strong and true like his own.

By this time, the entire squadron of highly trained men and women had fallen to Jane and lay scattered about on the ground of the clearing, heavily mutilated and mauled – but still alive – among a low chorus of moaning and groaning and whimpering at the pain and agony that wracked their bodies. After making sure that her enemies were all incapacitated and unable to harm her, the jungle ghoul slowly began to demorph and take upon her original form once more. Jane's once warm and bright blue eyes had dulled to a deep and cold navy like that of the abyssal trenches of the ocean depths. Her frail frame was trembling and shaking with every breath, no doubt fighting against the exhaustion that enveloped her body with every fiber of her being. Even with her labor breath, her senses remained sharp as ever and she just barely picked up on the sounds of a gun being cocked in her general direction.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Sheriff Jones holding her at gun point with his weapon, his arms and chest and face laced with deep, purple bruises where sharp hooves had roughly kicked him; the visor of his helmet was cracked and his lip was split and bleeding. The gun was trained on her, ready to shoot at the slightest sign of movement; the entire clearing seemed to freeze and anxiously tense up as Ben kept a steely gaze on the sheriff, as if daring him to pull the trigger. He figured that he might have enough time to activate the Omnitrix and take out the weapon-wielding madman before things got even more out of hand, or at least be there to subdue Sheriff Jones in the event Nightmare managed to catch him off by surprise.

It turned out that Jane was faster.

No sooner had Ben formulated a barely functional plan in his head did Jane suddenly charge almost blindly at the officer, running on her hands and knees with her arms and legs in near perfect unison. The sheriff growled, his brow slackened with sweat as he pulled the trigger and fired off a warning shot at the jungle ghoul's feet, missing as she leaped over it and continued to rush at him. The lawman then began to fire angrily, attempting to strike Jane as she expertly dodged and juked and weaved around the bullets with ease, each and every last one missing; her features began to morph while she gave a running leap and soared through the air at Sheriff Jones.

Her soft, lavender skin hardened and began to dry out, splitting and cracking like mud under the hot sun into thousands of interlocking scales. Her eyes moved around her head, remaining forward-focused while her skull shifted and ground against itself, bulging out and pressing flat into a roughly triangular shape. The jungle ghoul's arms shriveled up at a shocking pace with the sickening noise of crushed bone and squished tissue to accompany the revolting transfiguration. Her legs gave off a series of unsettling snaps and cracks as they were broken in nearly a hundred different places before suddenly wrapping around one another and fusing into a single limb, a long and flexible tail that was stretching out and out from her elongating spine. Jane continued to grow longer and longer, her form stretching to a near obscene length as mottled, black spots slowly faded into view across her lilac body while her senses dimmed; her vision faded and her sense of color dimmed, but her awareness in motion and smell was heightened beyond belief.

Sheriff Jones promptly screamed as the agitated anaconda lunged at him and his gun away with a powerful flick of her tail. The enormous constrictor hissed loudly and quickly proceeded to coil her body around the frozen lawman before he could even attempt to react, her long body wrapping around and around his body until his arms and legs were pinned together and prevented any further movement. The anaconda's face was now mere inches away from the sheriff's face, her forked tongue flickering to sample a taste that elicited an anxious whimper from her prey. Taking that as a cue, the gigantic snake proceeded to flex her powerful muscles and squeeze him, cocking her unblinking gaze as Sheriff Jones gave a pitiful squeak at the sensation of his rib cage being crushed.

The anaconda hissed softly, the forked tongue flickering out once more as if to sample her fear, and the snake's coercive coils squeezed even tighter. The constrictor took note of the short, panting breaths that her prey attempted to sneak in between the clenching of her muscles, but it was useless and all for not; for every breath the lawman took in, she squeezed twice as much oxygen from his body. His face was now turning a bright red as he struggled for breath, sweat dripping down his brow while he tried to wriggle free. The anaconda instinctively flexed her muscles once more and the struggling ceased once more.

Headmistress Bloodgood groaned as she propped herself up on her elbow and attempted to stop the steady stream of blood dribbling down her nose while Nightmare nudged her worriedly. The dullahan patted her faithful companion, letting her know that she was alright while she was helped to her feet and attempted to keep her bleeding nose from staining her uniform. The possibility of a ruined outfit was quickly forgotten when she noticed that Sheriff Jones was currently incapacitated and held within the clutches of a very annoyed and hungry anaconda that looked just about ready to eat him.

"Alright, Ms. Boolittle, I believe that's enough." the dullahan sniffed in an attempt to keep the blood from dripping down her front. The massive constrictor didn't move an inch and only flickered her forked tongue once more, the twin tips just barely grazing his cheek as he shied away from the cold gaze.

"Ms. Boolittle? I said, that's enough." Headmistress Bloodgood repeated a little more sternly, a slight edge in her voice. Once again, the anaconda didn't heed her demand and instead edged her head a little closer to the lawman's, her tongue sampling the air once more and her jaws shifting just the slightest. The dullahan could have sworn that she saw the powerful coils clench even tighter at her words, as if defying her orders and rubbing it in her face as well.

By now the headmistress was growing increasingly worried. While she was greatly concerned for Sheriff Jone's safety – despite how much the two of them argued on near daily basis – she also feared for her own safety as well, among others. Had Jane once again succumb to her primal instincts? Could she even hear her? If she could, was she being ignored? Was the jungle ghoul going to _eat_ the sheriff and make his demise a slow and excruciatingly painful one? If she did plan on killing the lawman, would she be next?

So many questions and concerns were bouncing around her head that the dullahan almost didn't notice Ben coming up right behind the transfixed anaconda, crouching down so that he still on his haunches right next to Sheriff Jones' face with a slight smirk upon his lips; the lawman looked like he wanted to shoot him. The snake on the other hand, didn't even move at Ben's presence, not even when he reached up with a brave hand and placed his palm upon her head. In fact, she seemed to lean into his touch and her crushing grip seemed to slacken just the slightest if the sudden gasp for breath from the sheriff was anything to go by.

Once he was sure the officer was able to breath clear enough, Ben spoke up. "Now then . . . how about we all be mature here and _not_ try and shoot each other without provocation?"

Sheriff Jones' face was beet red, though where it was from lack of oxygen or anger, Ben wasn't sure. "That . . . _thing_ . . . attacked my . . . men!" he grunted.

" _After_ you threatened her, I might add." Ben quipped.

"Go . . . rot in . . . hell, you little- _gak!_ " the lawman choked on his own spit as the massive constrictor hissed venomously and tightened her enormous muscles once more, putting him in a second crushing embrace. It felt like his organs were being pushed up into his esophagus or his eyes being squeezed out of his skull or that he was going to pop like an overcooked hot dog. His chest felt like it was slowly being crushed beneath a boulder and he could swear that he thought heard one of his ribs break under the intense pressure being placed upon him; a few seconds later, Ben gave a slight cough and the anaconda loosened her hold at his command.

"You're not really in a position to argue," Ben pointed out. "Which is why we're going to negotiate. As in, I offer you a deal that will make _us_ happy and keep _you_ from seeing what the inside of a giant snake looks like."

"When I . . . get my . . . hands on you . . . I'm gonna-" Sheriff Jones gasped as the air was forced out his lungs by Jane's powerful coils for a third time.

Ben put a hand to his ear, as if to further mock the struggling lawman that had been a thorn in his side the moment he arrived in New Salem. Day after day, month after month he had been hassled by the officer and his racist ideals against his monster friends – arguably brethren – and he was going to enjoy every available second to see the most irritating man currently in his life suffer. "I'm sorry, what was that? It sounded like someone who doesn't have an opinion that anybody cares about." he cracked before his expression became serious once more. "Now then, if we can get to the point . . ?"

"F-Fine . . ." Sheriff Jones managed to wheeze.

With a nod of his head and a comforting caress of his hand upon her scale bejeweled head, Jane released her immense grip upon the officer and allowed him to breath once more. While she fully trusted Ben – with her life even – she was both physically exhausted from the day's ordeal and tired of the loud man's constant accusations towards actions that were out of her hands. Honestly, she was pretty sure she had suffered more out of the whole experience than anyone else had.

Ben sighed with relief. "Finally," he mumbled to himself. "Anyway, here's how things are going to go: I am fully aware that Jane is still a threat to the safety of everyone, I don't doubt that at all. But instead of locking her up like some kind of animal and furthering her spiral into madness, I'll be the one to keep an eye on and train her." he explained. "In other words, anything and everything that happens to her will be my responsibility, including any rampages that will most likely _not_ going to happen."

"And . . . why would . . . I _ever_ agree to . . . that . . ?" Sheriff Jones grunted.

She didn't even need a cue to know that Ben was quickly losing her patience. With a loud hiss, Jane flexed her muscled coils as tight as they would go while she drew back her head and let out an irritated hiss, her jaw fully unhinged. She could easily swallow him whole at her leisure, even while he was still alive and kicking down her gullet if she wanted to; all it would take was a sharp movement of her head.

"That answer your question?" Ben asked.

The slowly suffocating sheriff felt beads of sweat tediously drip down his brow while he struggled to breath. He hated the snot-nosed punk who was currently giving him perhaps the smuggest smile known to man or monster. Ever since he had shown up in New Salem – _his_ town – he had wanted nothing more than to wipe that look off his face, the overconfident, cocky look that made his blood boil whenever the brat flashed him a smirk. He constantly made him look like a fool in front of everyone, always siding with those horrific monsters and showing him up at every open opportunity. He was nothing more than a showboating, irresponsible vigilante . . . who was threatening him with a gigantic snake that was slowly crushing the life out of him.

It was times like this that he really hated that boy.

"Alright . . . alright . . ." Sheriff Jones managed to spit out. "You win . . ."

Despite how much Ben wanted to rub the small – arguably monumental – victory in the man's face, he knew that wouldn't help his reputation any more than allowing Jane to squeeze the life out of him would. He gave a reassuring nod of his head and watched as the anaconda released her bone-crushing grip for the final time and took her sweet time in unraveling herself from around Sheriff Jones, ready to snap back into place if he even thought about trying to move for his pistol; Ben was one step ahead however and quickly grabbed the gun and hurled it off into the woods, far out of the lawman's reach.

The elephantine constrictor hissed softly as she slithered the last of her incredibly long body off of the sheriff and moved herself over to Ben, protectively wrapping her body around at his feet. In a single, fluid, instantaneous motion, the monstrous serpent disappeared in a flurry of interlocking, lilac scales and deep violet hair and took upon Jane's original form. Her once frozen orbs had softened and now beheld emotion and slight warmth to them alongside an intense and wary gaze that stayed permanently locked on Sheriff Jones as he climbed to his feet once he had managed to catch his breath.

The lawman was glaring at the jungle ghoul and brunette was absolute hatred in his eyes. "You may have won this round, you little sleazebags, but there's always a next time." he growled.

"And a next time . . . and a next time . . . and a next time . . ." Ben drawled with a roll of his eyes. "We've been over this how many times? Just get over it."

The sheriff looked like he was going to spit out another insult before he was cut off by a low, barely audible growl from Jane's throat. The chilling noise and the black slits that had taken the place of her once blue orbs were more than enough to make him think twice and decide to push getting vengeance off for another day. With a low curse under his breath, he stomped past Ben and Jane and over to his fallen forces, nudging a few of those that were unconscious with his foot and giving a brief check up on those that had witnessed him in his moment of weakness.

Headmistress Bloodgood released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding throughout the whole ordeal and relaxed a few degrees. She remembered how she had sucked in a small breath for every squeeze that Jane's once elongated body had made, her heart skipping a beat every time the breath was squeezed from Sheriff Jones' lungs like rolls of toothpaste. The dullahan hated unnecessary violence, absolutely abhorred it and always attempted to try and settle things through peaceful negotiations and persuasion rather than solving it with sharp blows and foul words. But even she had to agree that the situation had moved out out of peaceful territory the moment she had been forced to call the New Salem Police Department out of the concern for the safety of the public when Jane had fled the scene.

It hurt her to do this to her young pupils and surrogate son, but it was all over now. And much to her surprise, Ben had handled rather well, albeit with methods she wouldn't have agreed with.

"Are you alright?" Headmistress Bloodgood asked once she was sure Sheriff Jones was too preoccupied with the condition of his troops to care much about them.

"I'm fine," Ben shrugged before turning to Jane and noticing how she was leaning heavily against his shoulder for support. She was fighting to keep her eyes open and her head would droop every few seconds before she snapped it back up into place, eyes wide open before they started to blink shut once more. The jungle ghoul's breathing was slow and labored and her form was quivering while she attempted to hold herself up. "But I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that we're also _very_ tired."

Bloodgood couldn't help but let a small smile grace her lips at that. "I would imagine so. " she commented before sighing wearily. "It will take some convincing of the proper authorities for all charges regarding imprisonment to be dropped, but I imagine it won't be too difficult. In the mean time, I would suggest you get Ms. Boolittle some rest. I imagine she's rather . . . exhausted . . . from today's strange turn of events."

Jane could do nothing else but sleepily nod as she fought to try and stay awake. Her body was overwhelmed with fatigue and everything was pulsing and throbbing in agony, screaming for her to allow them rest. Her arms felt like bars of iron and her legs felt like they were weighed down with chained cannonballs tied around her ankles. Her thoughts were fuzzy and her head was pounding like a beating drum while she leaned into Ben's frame for support and warmth.

Ben took that as a sign that he best be going and tapped the Omnitrix before selecting a suitable transformation after a few short seconds and slamming a hand down on the activation button. He felt his arms swell with small muscles as his skin hardened into rust red plating that raced up his arms and legs and across his chest. His skull pinched and pulled backwards into a sharp crest with a series of soft crunches and snaps like that of breaking corn cobs; his eyebrows wove together into a pair of feathery wisps that rose above his head. Ben's nose and mouth cracked and squelched sickeningly as they melted and fused together into a large, horny beak with serrated edges that resembled teeth. His fingers molded together into three, sharp claws while his toes morphed into a pair of talons with a third jutting out from his heel. A flash of bright green light exploded from his back when an organic, jetpack-like structure formed between his shoulders, a pair of nonsynthetic gauntlets rising out of and popping open along his wrists and arms. Green, fingerless gloves and a green and black bodysuit materialized upon his form, the Omnitrix appearing on his left shoulder and completing the transformation.

Astrodactyl squawked irritably as he looked over himself. "Figures. You try to dial in Teleportail and you get something just a tad less useful. _RAWK!_ "

Headmistress Bloodgood gave a slight at the small jest. "Never lose that humor of yours, Ben. It's one of your best qualities." she commented. Her features that softened a little more and became more solemn. "I am also sorry for . . . having my doubts in your capabilities. While I don't normally agree with your methods of . . . negotiation . . . what you did back there, I'm very proud of you."

" _RAWK!_ I learned from the best," Astrodactyl chuckled. A slight moan reminded him why he had transformed in the first place and he crouched down to carefully place his clawed hands beneath Jane's back and legs before lifting her up and holding her in a bridal style position. The wings upon his back flicked out with a quick motion, briefly startling Bloodgood from their size while the extraterrestrial took a firing stance. "Now if you'll excuse me, the little lady needs her beauty sleep! _RAWK!_ "

Bloodgood nodded as she remounted Nightmare and took hold of the reins. "Alright then. Call if you're going to be late for dinner. I've got some crowd control to deal with and some calls to make in the mean time." she added. Astrodactyl nodded and turned his head towards the sky as the jetpack-like structure jutting out of his back gave a low whine and fired off a blast of neon green energy, sending him and Jane shooting straight up through the air and high into the sky, out of sight.

* * *

It was a little past noon by the time they arrived back at Monster High.

The courtyard and surrounding grounds were still flooded with anxious students and staff that surrounded various emergency vehicles that were attempting to control the damage and the cars of concerned parents some to pick their children up from school. The air of uncertainty and confusion had quickly diminished when one of the students amid the sea of monsters was fortunate enough to look up and notice Astrodactyl soaring through the sky with Jane in his arms and a rousing cheer had gone up for their triumphant return.

The pterosaur-like alien had ignored the applause however and flown around the back of the school for extra privacy, trying to remember which of the many windows in the school's towers and belfries was one of the few dorms that Jane resided in. After several minutes of having to peer through the windows and take careful note of each dorm's contents – luckily for him everyone was still outside – he eventually found the one he was looking for and carefully perched himself precariously along the window's ledge. With his hands currently occupied in holding onto Jane he pushed open the window with his head and hopped down inside the room just as the Omnitrix timed out with a series of dying beeps and returned him to his human form.

A slight grunt snapped him out of the brief moment of tranquility he tried to have for himself and Ben looked up to see his ghoulfriend's pet voodoo sloth, Needles, regard him with a nonchalant expression, as if suddenly having his owner's boyfriend fly in through the window was an everyday occurrence.

"Nice to see you, too," Ben gave a slight smile before he gestured to Jane with a nod of his head. "Don't worry. She's fine."

Needles groaned slightly and himself comfy along his branch while Ben busied himself with closing and latching the windows before laying Jane down on the tangle of sheets and blankets that was her bed. Once he was sure that she was comfortable and that she wouldn't be disturbed, he went about carefully stripping her of the shredded remains of her clothing – taking mild note in that they weren't her usual attire – until she was left in nothing but a pair of lacy red undergarments that himself turning red himself. Ben then pulled the tangled mess of sheets and blankets over the jungle ghoul's still form, brushing a lock of her twilight hair out of her face before turning around to dispose of the tattered strips of cloth he had pulled from her body.

" _Mmmh._ "

Ben looked back down towards the bed when he felt a firm tug on his hand and found that Jane had tightly latched onto his hand with a vice-like grip, her nails slightly digging into his skin for further emphasis. Her eyes were still closed and her breath was still labored and placid, but it was then that he noticed that she looked more relaxed and peaceful than she had ever been in their time spent together as 'false mates' as she so commonly referred to it. Curious, Ben experimentally rubbed his thumb across her soft, lavender skin and took note at the slow, drawn in breath that the jungle ghoul took in with a slight moan from her lips while she snuggled down deeper into the sheets.

" _Mmmm . . . stay . . ._ " the jungle ghoul mumbled, her eyes flickering open for the briefest moment. She was still enervated and bleary from the day's shenanigans, but she seemed awake enough to give him that pleading, puppy-eyed stare that Ben knew he couldn't resist.

The brunette surrendered with a sigh and let the shredded remains of Jane's clothing fall to the floor to be taken care of at a later date. "Alright, alright. Just let me text Bloodgood to let her know I'm gonna be late," he relented with a smile as he pulled out his iCoffin from his pocket and quickly rattled off a quick message.

No sooner had he finished the text then Jane had yanked him off his feet and pulled him onto the bed with her, latching onto him tightly as if to say that he wasn't going anywhere if she could help it. He managed to kick off his shoes and socks before his ghoulfriend got to them, but the same could not be said for his shirt. Before Ben could stop or try to reason with her, Jane had grabbed hold of his iconic T-shirt and tore it in half down the middle with the last of her strength, discarding it on the floor with the rest of her ruined clothing; the brunette supposed this was somewhat of a fair trade, but did it really have top be his favorite shirt?

This was all quickly forgotten when Jane lazily rested her head upon his shoulder and took a deep inhale of his alluring scent, her tense body relaxing as she wrapped her arms around his now bare chest and back. Ben found himself being dragged down to the bed with her and held still as his ghoulfriend made herself comfortable, resting her head upon his chest and the crook of his neck with her arm protectively latched over him, as if she afraid he might be taken away from her in her sleep. While he was slightly taken aback, his new situation was rather enticing and he readily welcomed it as he pulled Jane into a warm embrace and held her closer to him, slowly and calmly running his fingers through her messy locks to sooth her; he was rewarded with a soft sound that sounded like a cross between a low moan and a purr.

It was then that Ben realized that he was just as tired as well, his shoulders tense and his back killing him from the multiple times Jane had slammed him around like a ragdoll, among other parts of his body that were crying out in agony. He really wished that he had stopped by the nurse's office to grab an icepack or two, but the fatigue that wracked his beaten and bruised build was more than enough to make him forget any and all other concerns for the time being.

The madness was over. Anything and everything else that required his attention could be put off for tomorrow. School would undoubtedly be canceled for the next week or so while repairs were being done to take care of the damages. There would undoubtedly be some sort of necessary compensation for all the chaos that had been sewn by Jane's unexpected pubescence, but that could wait for another time. All that mattered was that his ghoulfriend was alright and that she was with him there right now with nothing else to bother them.

"You know, I'm beginning to think you're more trouble than you're worth," Ben lightly cracked before he kissed Jane's temple. "But that's what I like about you."

" _Stop moving . . ._ " Jane mumbled sleepily, nuzzling her head a little closer.

Ben chuckled as he pulled the covers up over them and brushed a lock of her hair out of her beautiful face, taking in her serene expression while he allowed slumber to come washing over him like a tidal wave of exhaustion. "Sleep well, Sweet Mango."

* * *

 ** _League of Legends_ references. I'm not sorry.**

 _ **Finally!**_ **I apologize for long this took. Surprisingly, it was a lot more difficult for me to write than I thought it was, and it of course didn't help that I came down with several cases of writer's block that halted by spree of creativity. Then there was getting my wisdom teeth pulled (it's just as painful when you're a Tetramand as it is being a human, even if you're undead), Deadpool wouldn't stop singing, Maddie has yet to properly train Mr. Nibbles-**

 _ **He doesn't need training!**_

 **Then kindly explain to me what that corrosive stain that's been eating away at the floor in the corner is.**

 _ **Oh, silly, he's just expressing himself through art!**_

 _ **'Have you tried getting him to 'express' himself on a piece of paper instead? How often does the Underworld Weekly paper get sent down here?'**_

 **Once a week, you dingus. And it's all full of propaganda and the latest torture methods, nothing else. Anyway, for those that even remember how this series goes, the poll will be placed up on my profile momentarily after this chapter has been released, so be sure to vote for which ghoul you want to get a second chapter!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!**

 ** _Hasta Luego!_**


	23. A Better Vampire Romance than Twilight 2

_**Gotta get back, back to the past, Samurai Jack! Watch out**_ **!** _ **Gotta get back, back to the past, Samurai Jack! Gotta get back, back to the past, Samurai Jack! Watch out!**_

 _ **'Since when do you ever**_ **sing** ** _to open up your /censored/ chapters?_**

 **Ever since the fifth and final season of Samurai Jack was announced, duh!**

 _ **I didn't know you were a fan?**_

 **I wasn't, but then I saw the light when I first saw the trailer for the fifth season and I knew that I had been living my life in a literal hellhole to have been ignorant to the ways of the wandering warrior known as Samurai Jack!**

 _ **'So lemme guess, Four-Eyes: the update to that other story of yours is gonna be delayed by another half hour in addition to the next two-three months while you watch new premiere?'**_

 **Precisely.**

 _ **'Then I'm in. You set the DVR, I'll bring the popcorn and chimichangas. There's no way in hell that I'm missin' a fellow sword-swinging brother make his debut!'**_

 **Glad we can agree on something for once. With that out of the way, it's now onto the lovely reviews you lovely lot have left! Granted, there isn't a lot of reviews to go through, but given how time has passed between the past two previous updates, I honestly blame the lot of you. Onto the reviews that we were granted!**

 _ **And Maddie can bring the sex!**_

 **. . . _How about you stick to the food and I don't make you miss the premiere by breaking every bone in your body?_**

 _ **'Or I could do that. Works for me!**_

 _ **Besides, me and Creaty already had a**_ **wonderful** ** _time on his birthday earlier this week!_**

 **Babe, that was really unnecessary. There's this thing called a plug and what you did was shameless and I for one am not about shameless plugging of anything that doesn't deserve it, including myself, so- since when do you carry a samurai sowrd?**

 _ **Since your little Samurai Jack was announced, silly!**_

 **. . . I _/censored/_ love you right now . . .**

 _ **Yay!**_

 _ **Menatron the Angel of Ideas –**_ **Yeah, sorry about that little mix-up. I could have sworn I posted the right chapter . . .**

 _ **Multiverseomniverse104 –**_ **Thank you,** _ **gracias**_ **, and** _ **merci!**_

 _ **I didn't know you spoke Spanish or French?**_

 **Ah, but I do. After all, they are both the language of love, aren't they?**

 _ **Ooh, Creaty . . .**_

 _ **'Ugh. Someone kill me now.'**_

 **Gladly. Oh, Mr. Nibbles!**

 _ **AGH! NO! That's not what I meant! I take it back! I take it all back! For the love of Glob, someone help me!'**_

 _ **Darkness Rissing –**_ **Alright, where did I put that pun jar . . . come on, I know it's around here somewhere!**

 _ **I think Mr. Nibbles ate it.**_

 **Of course. What** _ **hasn't**_ **that thing eaten?**

 _ **'Your ugly mug, for starters . . .'**_

 **Quiet you, lest you incur the wrath of my girlfriend's mallet. Regardless, I'm pretty sure shape-shifters and changelings are the same thing, just with different names; it's kind of like how a cougar can be called a mountain lion, a puma, a panther, and a catamount and yet still be referring to the same animal. And believe me, Jane can be just as dangerous as Ben when she needs to be, as you may find out more about in the third and final chapter of her and Ben's relationship . . . oh, the baddies won't even know what hit them!**

 _ **You mean like this?**_

 _ **THWACK!**_

 **Is this the same fish you slapped me with in 'you know what'?  
**

 _ **Yeppers!**_

 **Mackerel. It's _always_ the mackerel. It's never a tuna or a sturgeon or even a cod, it's _always_ the mackerel. Moving on . . .**

 _ **kival737101 –**_ **Wait no more!**

 _ **The Brod Road –**_ **Believe me, I** ** _know_ how much of a pain writer's block is. It is the natural predators of writer's in the wild after all, that's why it is called writer's block (scientific name being _Literature obscuri_ ). And believe me, I love hearing suggestions and ideas from readers; I wouldn't be where I am now if I didn't listen to them!**

 **Your suggestion for Ghoulia is actually pretty close to what I originally had planned for her, so good on ya, mate! On top of that, you're not too far off what I had planned for Cupid, either! To be honest, I don't know who'll be more hilarious to write in that instance, Zeus, Ares, or the Lord of the Underworld himself (you can bet your boots there will be references to the most amusing version of him to date. Thank you James Woods). I actually already have a decent idea for what Venus' second chapter could be about, but this is definitely something I can and will take into consideration.**

 **Hmmm, Courtley with a barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat . . .**

 _ **Don't tempt him!**_

 _ **'Don't tempt me!'**_

 **Shut it, Wade.**

 _ **Marshman101 –**_ **Yeah, this has to be the longest one-shot I've written, hasn't it? XD**

 _ **Cartoonfan10 –**_ **Yeah, I can understand your confusion there. I probably forgot to mention this – cue the much deserved slapping upside the head – but Abbey is dating** ** _both_ Frankie and Heath. I swear, there was no way I managed to forget who she was dating in this one-shot, absolutely no way, no how, uh-huh, that's right.**

 _ **'You /censored/ idiot.'**_

 **Shut it, Wade.**

 _ **Malchior the Bad –**_ **I actually already have a pretty solid idea for Nefera's chapter, whenever that may come to fruition. Not much can be revealed at this time, but what I can is that Nefera's less than stellar attitude will be preserved for the most part to help differentiate herself a bit from her mainstream self (and by mainstream, I mean the Nefera in WAM and OUAT). As for adding Aisling . . . it's really not necessary, so there's not point in adding her into the story. In fact, until I actually see the special itself, the pixies might be removed altogether for reasons that I can't/won't reveal at this moment.**

 _ **redbrd691 –**_ **Yes, I do play League of Legends and yes, I couldn't resist making a reference to what is arguably my favorite game; don't really play Master Yi anymore (even though I do dig out the seven-lensed goggles every now and again) though. As for Abbey, I have a rather amusing idea for her whenever she is voted in (which will probably be a while).**

 _ **maverickmoxey2000 –**_ **Yeah, not a big fan of Ben x Kai either (as I'm sure you are well aware of). As for human/monster relationships, I wouldn't exactly say it discouraged or taboo, it's just never come up at any point (unless you count the book series, in which Jackson Jekyll actually dates a human girl, Claire who may or may not know about his monster heritage).**

 **As I'm sure you're well aware, Abbey is going to make things quite interesting, especially since everyone else – including Ben and Heath – think she has a crush on Heath, which is the furtherest thing from the truth really; basically, Heath's going to have the mother of all brain freezes. And yes, I do speak from personal experience with that one couple that is completely ignorant of everything around them and spends every waking moment they have together making out. I swear, they're practically sewn at the lips with how they can't keep their hands off of each other . . . I've always found it funny how those that don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend find watching others make out to be extremely uncomfortable/disgusting and yet aren't bothered by it in the slightest when they have a significant other, even if there's another couple nearby. Heck, they could be in the same room and they wouldn't care.**

 **Hmm, how long before Jane's biological clock goes berserk? I'd say give it a couple years out of high school when she's reached full maturity. And to be honest, I never watched Powerpuff Girls back when it aired (and I don't really have any intention to either, mostly due to the abysmal reboot we have), but I know the gist of the show and know enough about the characters to get the basic plot. That being said, never heard of Mike Brickowski, but I already don't like him; the Sheriff is like that in a way, except he's just a little misguided (though not as much as Van Hellscream). He's willing to listen to reason (or willing to let things slide if it doesn't go in his favor/if he's off the clock) but has little to no patience for Ben due to him doing his job far better than he could/getting more attention while doing it.**

 **That, and he's still never forgiven him for accidentally burning off his beloved mustache.**

 **The main reason I used Kickin Hawk was to have a somewhat balanced alien with no obvious way to overpower their opponents (Four Arms with his brute strength/multiple limbs, Diamondhead with his crystalkinesis and durablity) so that Jane's inevitable beat down would be all the more impressive.**

 **That, and Ben usually doesn't pick a specific alien in these types of situations unless the matter at hand calls for a specific power set or alien; he's spent years fighting as each alien, so he's gotten to the point where he can pick a vast a majority of them blindfolded and wing it. That, and it's more overly impressive when he's fighting as something he didn't intend to turn into and winning; think of it like how Samurai Jack defeated an entire army of robot bounty hunters in the episode " _Samurai verses Samurai_ " with nothing but a bamboo stick. He could have easily used his sword, but he didn't because he didn't need to and that's what made him so badass (thank god for the fifth season).**

 _ **'We done here?'**_

 _ **Yep!**_

 _ **'Good, because I need me some Mexican food. Deadpool has the munchies.'**_

 **You do that. Now, every time I post a chapter, I will reset the poll on my profile asking for which ghoul I should write about next; the winner of the previous poll will not be deleted from the list, meaning you can vote for that same ghoul again to get another one-shot chapter starring them. And in the event of a tie, I flip a coin for which ghoul I write about.**

 **And this chapter's winner is . . . Draculaura!**

 **As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below your ideas for possible scenarios for future ghouls and Ben! We love to hear from you guys!**

 _ **Onward!**_

 **I've given up at this point.**

* * *

The air was crisp and chilled like a sack of frozen peas, devoid of moisture that often chapped the lips and skin of monsters everywhere, especially those that were more reliant on water. What little moisture there was in the air was locked up nice and tight in the form of soft, crystal snow flakes that gently sprinkled down from the gloomy, gray clouds overhead that blocked out the warming rays of the sun.

Like an army they descended down from the sky and took root upon the ground, piling themselves up into gigantic hordes and crowds from which they might begin their assault from a myriad of places. The tops of roofs were covered in layers of frost intricately stylized into awe-inspiring patterns by swarms of frost fairies. Trees that were once brown and bare and clawed desperately at the sky for the life giving rays of the sun were now covered in fluffy, cotton ball wigs from which jagged icicles hung down like the threatening maw of a hungry dragon – minus the fire of course.

The streets of New Salem were filled with slush from the snow plows that ruthlessly shoved their way through the snow clogged streets and left trails of discarded sand in their wake in an effort to create some sort of traction for the steady stream of traffic from the neighboring towns and suburbs to travel through and keep everything in working order.

Indeed, Draculaura was quite glad that she was inside the comfortable warmth of Monster High's hallways listening to the latest hit by Dead Fearan and not out in the frigid air where the wind would turn her cheeks a rosy cardinal and make her nose go numb in the sub-zero temperatures.

" _Ghoul, you know I want your love, your love was handmade for somebody like me._ "

" _Come on now, follow my lead. I may be crazy, don't mind me._ "

" _Say, boo, let's not talk too much, grab on my waist and put that body on me._ "

The Daughter of Dracula found herself humming along to the almost monotonic voice and catchy rhythm while she rummaged through her locker. At the insistence of her ghoul friends, she was using the good hour or so before classes to clean out the contents of her locker and figure out what she absolutely needed and what she could stand to leave at home or throw away; try as she might, it wasn't an easy task and not one she was making much headway on.

Draculaura gave a sigh as she dumped her Biteology and Ghoulish Literature textbooks into a pile of items that deemed necessary to keep in her private sanctuary at school. She really wished that her beastie was her by her side to help her with the task of cleaning out of her locker – more like nitpick about the vampire's choices in what needed to stay and what could go – but she new that it was merely wishful thinking. Clawdeen Wolf had moved away a little over a month ago and was never coming back if what the emails she had sent her said were true.

According to the few emails she had managed to get, Clawdeen and her family had moved clear across the country all the way to Boo York City, it turned out, and the werewolf actually seemed to be enjoying herself. Her parents worked at a high end restaurant and received enough adequate pay to move into an upscale apartment that offered a view of Entrail Park from the rooftop that was absolutely gore-geous at night. Clawdeen had actually dropped out of high school to pursue her dream as a fashion designer and had started a moderately successful, online business that was gaining a reputation, her younger sister had managed to strike it out big time and risen to the top of the popularity charts that she had always striven for at her new school, and her older brother . . .

The vegan vampire felt a sad smile cross her lips when she found a familiar photo buried deep within the depths of her locker. It was a picture of the day her father had given her a brand new Volts-wagen Beetle convertible for her sweet sixteen-hundredth birthday. The engine was a 2.0 L 4-cylinder – at least that was what Chamomile Jacksons told her the last time the car got a tune up and oil change – and after a few adjustments from the reptilian monster, it purred like a kitten whenever she teased the gas pedal. It was naturally colored her two favorite colors – pink and black, of course – and offered a variety of other features as well, such as surround sound speakers, a rear-view camera to help her in tight parking situations, anti-lock breaks, among others.

The most important features of the photo itself however, were the three monsters standing in a row in front of the expensive vehicle. In between and absolutely dwarfed by her two companions was none other than herself, triumphantly smiling at the camera while presenting a brand new driver's license to compliment her father's present. Standing on Draculaura's right was of course, her ghoul friend forever, Clawdeen, flashing a bright, toothy grin while she hugged the vampire with her free arm; the other one was flashing the camera a playful 'peace' sign with her claws. Last in line was none other than her sweet boo, the love of her unlife for the past four years or so, Clawd Wolf. His frame was powerful and strong, his smile wide and glistening, his fur soft and lucious, and his eyes . . . those eyes that glittered like gold when he was in her presence, that lit up like bright stars whenever she was within his warm embrace.

Draculaura felt a stab at her chest and her bottom lip tremble as she gazed at the picture in remembrance. She had remembered that day well, her sweet 1600 birthday when she had gotten her Volts-wagen and taken her beastie and boyfriend out for a drive. She had been so nervous then, always afraid that she wasn't doing something right or that she was going to crash into something or someone at any given moment. She remembered how Clawd had been patient with her fear and helped guide her through the process of being a licensed driver for the first time and she honestly had never felt more proud in her unlife than when they had gotten out onto an open country road where she was able to step on the gas and really take off. She had laughed the whole time watching Clawd being unable to resist himself and stick his head out the window with his tongue lolling from his jaws and flapping in the breeze, much to the embarrassment of his sister.

And now he was gone, torn away from her and leaving a hole in her heart that had never healed.

Well, that wasn't exactly true, now that Dracualura thought about it. She felt her soft, angular features split into an eager smile when a shadow loomed over and blocked out all of the light all of a sudden, shrouding her in darkness. This would have normally alarmed most ghouls, but the Daughter of Dracula was comforted in the fact that the shadow was accompanied by the familiar smell of exotic fruits and the comforting touch of an acquainted pair of claws that grazed her ticklish, pink skin in a manner that set shivers up her spine and made her tremble with ecstasy from the slightest touch.

"How's the Spring cleanin' goin'?" she heard the familiar, rumbling tone of Blitzwolfer's baritone voice in her ear.

"Oh, you know, the usual," was the response she gave as she turned around and buried himself in the furnace-like warmth that was her boyfriend's chest, pecking a sweet kiss upon his lower jaw. "Can't figure out what needs to stay, can't figure out what needs to go, and all around getting absolutely nothing done whatsoever."

Blitzwolfer chuckled. "Eh, you'll figure it out eventually." he reassured her with a toothy grin. The Loboan released his warm embrace from around the vampire and offered her a steaming coffee cup. "Gotcha your favorite: coffinccino with a dollop of scream and sprinkled with gingerdread."

Draculaura gratefully accepted the cup off coffee and took a sip, humming with appreciation at the warmth that began to surround her core in a comfortable blanket. "Aw, thanks, Ben. You're so sweet!"

"Hey, not as sweet as you, babe." the Loboan teased while he licked his chops free of the whip cream from his own cup of coffee clutched carefully in his claws. "And, uh, remember . . ?"

The vegan vampire quickly checked to make sure that the hallway was mostly vacated of prying eyes and inquisitive ears before she nodded and pretended to sew her lips shut with an invisible needle and thread like she had seen Frankie do so many times when promising to keep secrets. "Right, no humans here, just a ghoul and her boo enjoying coffee together."

"That's my ghoul." Blitzwolfer winked at her, earning a light blush and giggle from Draculaura. As much as she appreciated the Loboan form her boyfriend had chosen as his cover, she honestly preferred his human form over his alien transformations . . . not that she had seen that many. The vampire just knew that she liked to spend as much time with her boyfriend's true form whenever possible; it helped her forget about the many memories that she had shared with Clawd and to differentiate her current boyfriend from her former lover.

Unfortunately, a vast majority of Monster High's students and staff simply weren't ready to tolerate attending or teaching classes with humans or 'normies', as they had been nicknamed over the centuries, despite the progress that had been made during their Halloween escapade.

Draculaura sighed wistfully. "I just wish we could be seen together as . . . well, you."

Blitzwolfer felt his ears instinctively pin themselves back against his head and his tail droop slight. "I know, I know. It's just . . . I don' wanna freak anybody out, you know? I don' wanna give humans any more of a bad rep than they already got."

"Not as bad as a reputation as my dad. Monsters aren't exactly fond of him either you know."

The Daughter of Dracula startled at the sound of the new voice, nearly dropping her coffinccino with a dollop of scream sprinkled with gingerdread when she whirled around to see Twyla Boogeyman step out of the shadow of her locker as casually as one might walk through a door. The shadow ghoul was abruptly encompassed in a puff of sweet smelling, spicy smoke that dissipated to reveal none other than Gigi Grant standing proudly next to her with arms folded over her bust.

" _Twyla! Gigi!_ " Draculaura hurriedly greeted the shadow ghoul and genie, her tone lightly laced with worry. "Um . . . how long have you two been, uh, standing there?"

The two ghouls were normally among the shiest members of the Monster High student body, choosing to remaining out of most monsters line of sight or interest and enjoy their own company for their respective reasons; Twyla chose to remain in the shadows because she had no desire to be the center of attention and monsters had a habit of hunting down Gigi solely for the purpose of having their wishes fulfilled. Despite that little fact, the two ghouls actually looked readily excited about something, which was rather unusual for the shadow ghoul considered her preferred monotone lifestyle.

Gigi beamed brightly. "That doesn't matter! C'mon, there's something you have to see!" she eagerly gestured for the two of them to follow.

"Why do I get the sinkin' feelin' that this spells trouble?" the Loboan narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Draculaura rolled her eyes. "Oh, Ben, you're always overreacting." she laughed.

"Hey, I have my reasons," Blitzwolfer argued as he took one last sip of his coffee and expertly tossed it over his shoulder and into the nearest garbage can before dropping down onto all fours. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check the damage." he surrendered. He suddenly dove between Draculaura's legs and threw his head back to toss the startled, squealing vampire onto his shoulders with a semi-playful grin before taking off down the hall after an excited Gigi.

"And I thought I was the pessimistic one." Twyla commented. The shadow ghoul slipped back into the shade with blackened tendrils of ashen smoke in her wake, popping out of another shadow farther down the hall before disappearing once more and reappearing even further away from the chasing Loboan; it was times like this that he wished he had an alien with umbraportation abilities. But what were the odds of one of those existing?

Draculaura yelped as she dug her fingers into her boyfriend's shaggy, fur coat and hung on for dear life like a pink rodeo rider. " _Ahh!_ Can you not slow down just a little bit!?"

Blitzwolfer growled playfully while he dug his claws into the purple carpeting and rounded a corner hot on Gigi's heels. "Now where's the fun in that?"

"The fun is keeping my breakfast down where it belongs!"

The topic of keeping Draculaura's breakfast in one place soon became an irrelevant matter when the four monsters made another sharp turn down the coffin locker-lined hallway and eventually spilled out into the school's lobby, strategically placed between the main entrance and the twin staircases that led up to the second and third floors above. A massive crowd of monsters had crowded into the space and into the linking hallways and corridors, all of them chattering excitedly about something at the center of their midst.

Blitzwolfer slowed to a lackadaisical walk with Gigi and Twyla when they approached the outer ring of the crowd of monsters. He carefully rose up onto his hindlegs in an attempt to see over the gathering of excited students. "You see anythin'?"

"I'm not sure . . ." the vegan vampire shielded her eyes from her position atop her boyfriend's broad shoulders, scanning the mass gathering for any sign of what could have possibly drawn them all together. She was normally in the loop when it came to important information or juicy gossip and heavily relied on Cleo or Spectra to keep her up to date with all the latest details. Neither of them however, had contacted her at all and thus she couldn't fathom what had everyone so excited or crowded together into one spot.

It was then that she noticed a pair of oddly familiar ears prick up from just above the average height of the crowd. The pointed ears twitched with agitation, swiveling back and forth experimentally before they seemed to settle in her direction and hurriedly scramble and push their way through the crowd of monsters. Following closely behind them was a second pair of strangely familiar ears with dangling, golden hoop earrings that was set just a tad lower than the first pair; bringing up the rear was a third and final pair that was just barely visible to Draculaura over the heads of the student body while they parted and moved aside like the Blood Red Sea before her.

The closer the three sets of ears, the more familiar they became to the vegan vampire. It was almost like they were . . .

" _Clawd!_ " Draculaura gasped with surprise.

" _Draculaura!_ " the vampire's ex-boyfriend cried happily as he finally managed to pull himself out of the mob of monsters. The werewolf certainly looked different than Draculaura remembered, now sporting a soul patch in addition to his hairy sideburns and cleanly cut mane of dark, chocolate fur. Out of tradition, he proudly wore his old Monster High Letterman jacket over a casual, blue T-shirt with a dog bone stenciled in black on the chest, a pair of jeans whose knees had worn out after thousands of graveyard ball games with friends, and his faded, gold boots that easily three shoe sizes bigger than most other monsters.

"La La! It's been ages!" the second set of canine ears had turned out to be none other than Clawd's younger sister and Draculaura's beast friend forever, Clawdeen Wolf. The Daughter of Draculaura squealed with excitement and tightly clenched fists and all but threw herself from atop Blitzwolfer's shoulders to embrace the two werewolves in as tight of a hug that she could muster; given her rather small stature, this wasn't much but her overjoyed expression and over the top screams of delight were more than enough to convey her happiness and relief.

"Clawdeen! Clawd! What are you doing here?" Draculaura wondered. "I mean, I'm glad that you're here, but _why are you here?_ I thought you moved to Boo York and weren't coming back! _Ever!_ "

Clawdeen gave a bright smile. "Well, Clawd has a few days off from college, I managed to pry myself away from work for a few days, and Howleen . . . well . . ."

Draculaura was initially confused as to what the Sphinx her closest friend for years on end was trying to imply, that is until she heard Clawd snicker slightly and tap her on the shoulder. The vegan vampire turned to where her former lover was pointing and felt her eyes widen slightly at the sight of Howleen Wolf hungrily pinning a near helpless Twyla up against the nearest wall of lockers while Gigi looked on with a mischievous smile and intense blush to her face. It was only when she realized that Twyla was only in danger of suffocating from lack of breath due to Howleen's fierce and intense kisses that Draculaura decided no further questions needed to be asked. She simply enjoyed the company of the two biggest factors in her unlife being by her side again.

" _Ahem._ "

It was then that Draculaura realized she might have gotten a bit ahead of herself and released the two Wolf siblings from her affection, taking a step back while she tapped her fingers anxiously with a sheepish smile. "Oh, um . . . Clawd, Clawdeen, I'd, uh, like you to meet . . . _Blitzwolfer_ , my, er . . . _new boyfriend?_ "

"That would be me." came a low, rugged voice came from behind the vampire. The two siblings looked up to see a large and imposing werewolf covered from head to claw in shaggy, gray fur with a particularly thick mane growing from his broad shoulders and thick neck. They took note of the wicked claws and razor-sharp fangs that he possessed and paused in their appraisal to notice of how his jaws were powerful and protruding from his face in a dog-like muzzle, the long, furry talon, and the odd construction of his leg joints in comparison to their own. All in all, he made up to be a rather unusual werewolf, but all the defining features seemed to there. "Names Blitzwolfer. Draculaura's told me a lotta 'bout 'cha."

"Likewise. Nice to meet you." Clawd grinned as he shook the Loboan's hand, wincing slightly at the raw strength. "Ooh, that's a strong grip you got there."

"So I've been told." Blitzwolfer chuckled.

Clawdeen shook her head in amazement with a small smile. "Boys will be boys. They're hittin' it off like they were pack mates or somethin'."

"It know! Isn't it clawesome?" Draculaura beamed excitedly, readily hugging her ghoul friend forever since their freshman year. "I'm just so excited that you're back!"

It was interesting to note that the werewolf seemed to have gotten a rancid taste in her mouth the moment the vegan vampire warmly embraced her as her features had screwed up with an expression not unlike that of someone who just simply couldn't handle the sour. Draculaura soon took notice of this and became a little more anxious than usual. "Clawdeen? What's wrong?" she wondered.

The werewolf sighed frustratingly and folded her arms over her bust, impatiently tapping her claw on her left bicep – a habit that she did whenever she was particularly annoyed by something beyond her control. "I'm gonna be honest with ya, La La . . . my brother and I aren't the only ones here to see ya."

"What do you mean? Is Thad coming for a visit, too? Is he bothering you again? I thought I told him to leave you alone after what he tried to do to you last time, but he always had a habit of ignoring anything anyone ever tried to warn him about just one time, just to get on their nerves. I mean, it wasn't so bad back when he was in Hellementary school and it was just flickering pieces of paper at the back of monster's head, but-"

Before Clawdeen could attempt to try and correct the accusative vampire, her sensitive ears picked up on a disturbance in the mob of monsters behind them that made every last hair on her entire body stand on end with apprehension. Her older brother and Blitzwolfer had picked up on it too and had paused in their bonding to try and figure out what was causing so much of an uproar; even Howleen had taken a break from making with a breathless Twyla to investigate the increasingly aggravated attitude.

" _Isn't that . . ?_ "

" _You shoulda stayed in that pit where you belonged!_ "

" _Abbey thought she told you she would break legs like icicles if she saw face around here!_ "

Draculaura subconsciously found herself become increasingly on edge with the shower of insults and threats coming from her classmates. She knew very few things that would make her fellow students so verbally violent, such as the number of rather unsavory enemies over the years, ranging from a family of monster hunters generations long to a traveling merchant and showman that had a habit of earning his bread off the misfortune of monsters. But there was only one _thing_ , or rather one _monster_ that she knew of that would draw such an incredible ire from her classmates and warrant the protective circle that Blitzwolfer, Clawd, Clawdeen, and even Howleen, Twyla, and Gigi had taken up around her . . .

And there he was, just like she remembered. He still had that pale, pink skin that was so much like her own, that same shaggy hair that was an alluring blend between black and brown with crimson stripes the color of blood, those same rosy eyes that had her starring them all day long for as long as possible. He still dressed like she remembered, too, sporting a classy, black sports coat over a ruby red vest laden with brass buttons and a winter white ascot snugly wrapped around his neck from which several necklaces and charms hung tucked away in his jacket and out of sight. His dress pants were still as black as ebony and his expensive, black dress shoes clapped purposely against the thin, mauve carpet when he walked in that aloof manner that made him seem almost impossible to obtain and yet such an honor when he seemed to descend down from on high to grace one with his presence.

"Kieran Valentine." Clawd growled with a sour expression.

The emo vampire chuckled with a small smile. "My, are we now sayin' 'ch other's names again?" he lightly joked before his rose-colored eyes caught sight of Draculaura and stooped into a low, sweeping bow worthy of a stage actor. "Ah, my darlin' Draculaura. So nice to see ya 'gain."

Much to Blitzwolfer's surprise, Draculaura's hand moved faster than his eyes could catch and had left a pulsing, red impression of her fingers upon Valentine's cheek.

"I may have deserved that," he admitted, though nonetheless winced as he instinctively rubbed the sore spot.

Much to Blitzwolfer's surprise, Clawdeen's hand seemed to even faster than Draculaura's and left an even bigger and more painful looking welt upon Valentine's cheek.

"I probably deserved that, too." he cringed.

Much to Draculaura's surprise, Blitzwolfer moved faster than even her or Clawdeen's hand when he gave a swipe of his claws and sent Valentine sprawling flat on his back, dazed from the blow.

"I suppose ya deserved that?" the Loboan growled threateningly.

"No . . . I'm not sure I deserved _that_ one . . ."

"You deserve that an' a whole lot more after what you did." Clawdeen snarled, baring her teeth and clenching her hands into tight fists. "A _lot_ more . . . an' you can drop that stupid accent of yours. Nobody's fallin' for it."

The emo vampire coughed and groaned as he climbed to his feet, his face now beet red from the punishments he had been dealt. He then took a few seconds to brush off his sleeves and straighten his ascot and coat before speaking, albeit with a bit more hesitance. "I know what I did was wrong, I see that now . . . and I've come to ask for your forgiveness. I know I don't deserve to be forgiven by you after what I've done, after what I tried to do to you, fair Draculaura, but I'm willing to try and make up for my horrible behavior; I offer myself to you as your humble servant for the rest of the day."

Draculaura instantly took note of the immediate hostility coming from her boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, ghoul friend, said ghoul friend's little sister, and said ghoul friend's little sister's own social circle of friends at the mere suggestion of that offer and contemplated on whether or not she should try to sooth their tempers. She looked apprehensively at Valentine, who had stooped into a submissive, bowing posture that was reminiscent of the staff her father had hired when they lived back in Transylvania and mulled over his proposition the way a cat might consider taking a swim – very apprehensively.

"Well . . . you did try to break my heart . . ." she reminded him.

Blitzwolfer's ears immediately pricked up at the tone of her voice, the specific tone she used when pretending to deliberate over a decision that she had already agreed upon. If the looks from Clawd and Clawdeen were anything to go by, they knew that tone as well and were just as concerned and wary as he was. "Babe, yer not seriously thinkin' of goin' along with this, are ya?"

"I'm wit' ya boo on this one, La La. The creep can't be trusted!" she hissed, scowling at the emo vampire out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't you remember what he tried to do to us?" Clawd added lowly.

The vegan vampire gave the three werewolves a frustrated look. "I _do_ remember what he tried to do, I _am_ aware that he can't be trusted, and I _am_ seriously thinking of doing this." she placed her hands on her hips in a manner that said there would no further discussion on the subject. "Everyone deserves a second chance, even horrible monsters like Valentine . . . besides, I can think of a few things that he could do. And if I ever run out of ideas, I'm sure Cleo might have some I can borrow . . ."

Valentine dared to look up from his submissive posture. "So . . . it's been decided? I have a chance to redeem myself?" he asked hopefully.

Blitzwolfer gave a reluctant sigh. "Yeah, looks like ya do . . . but know this, _pretty boy_." he snarled, bending down and grabbing the emo vampire by the front of his vest and coat, effortlessly lifting him off the ground to pull him up to eye level. "You make _one_ move on my ghoulfriend, _one_ attempt to break her heart again, _one_ mistake at _all_ and I am gonna turn you into my own personal chew toy. _Got it?_ " he snarled, baring his teeth with a low snarl and twitch of the flexible flaps that made up his jaws.

The emo vampire swallowed bravely and nodded. "I-I-I got it . . . understood."

"Good . . ." the Loboan let the threat hang as he set Valentine back down on the ground.

 _ **RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!**_

"Saved by the bell," Clawdeen commented with slight sarcasm as she blew a strand of her chocolate hair out of her face. "C'mon, La La. I'm actin' as Ms. Kindergrübber's assistant for the day. You got Home Ick first hour?"

Draculaura nodded and made a move to follow after her beastie before she suddenly remembered something and promptly turned around to stand up on the tip of her toes to kiss Blitzwolfer on the cheek. "Gotta go, boo. Love ya!" she smiled and winked at him before she turned to scurry after Clawdeen.

"She's really somethin', isn't she?" Clawd chuckled at the dreamy look on Blitzwolfer's face.

"Yeah . . ." the Loboan sighed lovingly before he noticed that Valentine was still with them and immediately turned hostile once more. "Well, whatta ya waitin' for!? Get to it!" he snarled.

The emo vampire gulped anxiously and promptly stood as stiff as a board, saluting Blitzwolfer and Clawd with slight fear in his eyes before he turned to hurry off after his temporary mistress.

"And remember! _Personal chew toy!_ "

Clawd chuckled at the panicked look on Valentine's face and watched as his youngest sister all but suffocated Twyla in yet another kiss, prompting Gigi to snap her fingers and summon forth a large fan in an attempt to give the two ghouls some amount of privacy from the slowly dissipating crowd. "Come on, bro, we better get to class," he clapped Blitzwolfer on the shoulder. "I see you fourth hour; Draculaura told me you got Physical Deaducation then. Since Coach Igor's out sick with hump-o-thermia, I'm subbing for the next couple of days while we're in town."

"Nice." the Loboan grinned and readily fist-pumped his new werewolf friend. Despite that however, he couldn't help but take one last look down the hall in the direction Draculaura, Clawdeen , and Valentine had gone.

"Somethin' wrong, man?" Clawd caught on to his anxiety.

"I can' shake the feelin' that there's somethin' wrong 'bout all this . . . that creep rubs my fur the wrong way." he admitted.

The werewolf sighed knowingly. "I know how you feel, dude, but Draculaura's a smart ghoul. If she didn't think she could handle it or didn't think Valentine was worth giving a second chance, she wouldn't. And besides, she's got Clawdeen with her and the rest of the ghouls are bound to be in on this, too. So don't worry." he tried to reassure the Loboan. "I mean seriously, it can't get any worse, can it?"

"Ya know, back I'm from, those five words would be considered treadin' on thin ice . . ."

* * *

 _ **TWEET!**_

Blitzwolfer cringed at the short blast of Clawd's whistle, wondering how the werewolf had built up a tolerance for such abrasive sounds during his time as a star athlete for Monster High's various sport teams. It was almost amusing then to note that, despite seeming to have built up an immunity to the assault that was whistles and airhorns from various rallies and sports events, Clawd didn't seem to have a resilience for the freezing temperatures that currently held New Salem in its icy grip.

Granted, it was very well below thirty degrees outside and there were already ice cubes floating around in Gillington "Gil" Webber's water helmet, but the Loboan honestly didn't feel the biting cold, thanks to the thick coat of shaggy, dense fur that evolved over millions of years of freezing nights on his specie's home world, Luna Lobo; to him it just felt a little nippy.

The same could not be said for his classmates. A vast majority of them, such as Venus McFlytrap, were either wrapped in layers of winter wear in an attempt to shut out the chilling winds or were crowding around Heath Burns in an effort to keep themselves warm. Either way, the fire elemental seemed to be having the time of his life with a fair number of ghouls willingly and practically fighting for a spot next to him.

"Alright boos and ghouls, lets get started," Clawd announced. "As your teacher today-"

"Ah, c'mon, Clawd! Knock off the act!" Manny Taur snorted, his nose ring fluttering amongst his hot breath.

Deuce Gorgon agreed. "No offense, dude, but we've known you since we were freshmansters." he pointed out while adjusting the large, wool hat he had to wear in order to keep the snakes that lined his scalp from getting exceedingly cranky in the freezing temperatures. "It's just awkward, you know?"

"It _is_ kinda weird." Blitzwolfer admitted, earning sentiments of concurrence from the rest of the class.

Sometimes Clawd hated being twelve full moons older than all of his Monster High friends. "I know, I know. Just bear with me for now, alright, guys?" he sighed. "Now then, since Coach Igor's sick, we're gonna be doing something a little different . . ."

"D-D-Does it inv-volve us b-being out here where it's abs-s-solutely f-freezing?" Venus griped sarcastically. Even though she was wearing what looked like six different coats, three different hats, four pairs of sweatpants, and two pairs of gloves, the plant-monster ghoul still readily embraced the warmth of her ghoulfriend's broiling boiler. Robecca Steam was more than happy to wrap her arms around Venus and share her body warmth with her, playfully blowing a raspberry at Heath when he gave her a jealous look.

Clawd grinned. "Yep! 'Cause today we're playing hockey!"

Venus' groans fell on deaf ears as the werewolf proceeded to divide the class up into teams of five, directing a portion of students whose names were not important to wait in the outdoor bleachers that lined the basketball court-sized pool for their turn to take the ice. Those that were to be playing were directed to put on a pair of provided skates, grab a hockey stick, and decide who was going to be the goalie, with the teams ending up in such a way that Manny, Deuce, Heath, Bonita Femur, and Rochelle Goyle were put together for one team and Blitzwolfer, Gil, Venus, Robecca, and Kjersti Trollson were grouped together for another.

"You sure you got this, Heath?" Deuce called back to his teammate.

The fire elemental gave a sure-fire smile. "No sweat, man! I'd like to see them _try_ and get past the Heathmeister!"

"Just don't get cocky!" the gorgon warned.

"Me? Get cocky? No way!"

"Famous last words." Deuce sighed under his breath, mentally preparing himself for the long game ahead.

"Enough talk! Let's play!" Manny bellowed as he starred down Blitzwolfer with a vengeful grin on his face. "I'm gonna turn you into a wolf-skinned rug!"

The Loboan returned the pernicious smile. "We'll see who's makin' hamburgers outta who, Ferdinand."

 _ **TWEET!**_

No sooner had Clawd blown his whistle did the enraged minotaur and Blitzwolfer lunge for the hockey puck, sending it ricocheting off the sides of the pool while the two monsters remained locked in place with their sticks, neither one instead to give in to the other if they could help it. This allowed Robecca enough time to activate her rocket boots – it had been advised that she and Blitzwolfer not wear ice skates, especially since the former had claws that wouldn't fit any size available – and shoot across the ice to intercept the hockey puck in its wild trip around the frozen pool.

"Later, luv!" the robot teased Manny as she shot past him at a breakneck pace.

The minotaur roared with fury, becoming momentarily distracted by Robecca, and allowing Blitzwolfer to gain the upper hand on him. With a grunt he shoved him back long enough for him to skate around Manny, his wicked talons acting like a pair of built in skates while he rushed after his teammate to provide her with cover as the opposing team readied themselves.

Deuce gripped his hockey stick tightly and readied himself as Robecca came shooting straight at him with Blitzwolfer hot on her heels, ready to follow up with an assist if necessary. With a grunt, he made a quick movement and managed to steal the puck away from the robot at the last second, quickly slap shooting it between Blitzwolfer's legs and across the rink mere moments before the Loboan collided with him; the gorgon went down like a sack of potatoes as the alien werewolf used his body like a springboard and went chasing after the speeding puck.

By now, Manny had come to his senses and had quickly gained control of the hockey puck, expertly swiping it from side to side to push it towards the enemy goal. Gil and Kjersti made a feeble attempt to try and cut the minotaur off and steal the puck back but were easily brushed aside like bothersome flies when Manny stormed past them like a freight train.

To her credit, Venus strongly stood her ground despite the absolutely detestable temperatures and prepared herself the heralding doom in the form of a rampaging minotaur; Manny wasn't stomping for anything and very well looked like he was willing to literally bulldoze the plant-monster ghoul in order to score a successful goal. Fortunately for her, at the last second she lashed out with her hockey stick and succeeded in tripping up his skates, sending him crashing to the ice and giving Venus enough time to hurriedly slap the puck as hard as possible away from her team's goal.

"I got it! I got it!" Kjersti shouted, eagerly whizzing across the ice to take procession of the puck.

"Kjersti! Over here!" Gil yelled, waving his free hand wildly.

The small troll nodded and quickly sent the puck skidding off in the direction of the freshwater monster just as Rochelle made an attempt to try and steal it from her, just barely missing Kjersti and crashing down onto the ice with enough force Clawd could have sworn he saw cracks starting to form. Nobody paid much mind as they were too busy watching Gil and Kjersti pass the puck between them in an effort to thwart Deuce and Bonita's attempts to try and take back the puck from them.

A loud howl rang clear through the crisp air when Blitzwolfer came barreling down between the two of the monsters. "Over here! I got this!"

Neither the troll or freshwater monster argued and passed the puck without hesitation, watching with triumph on their faces when the Loboan easily shoved his way past Bonita and Deuce and charged straight for the goal with no sign of stopping. Heath gave a determined look and instinctively felt his body flare up at the thought of being the one on his team to save them giving first blood, maybe even scoring the first goal if he hit the puck hard enough!

It was sad to note that, by the time Blitzwolfer gave a mighty swing of his hockey stick and scored the first goal of the game with enough force to tear a hole in the net, Heath was no longer standing there and had fallen through a freshly melted hole in the ice beneath his feet. A rousing round of cheers and applause came from the rest of the unnamed monsters that made up the class while Blitzwolfer reached down through the hole in the ice, fished around for a few seconds, and came back up with a sopping wet and absolutely freezing fire elemental.

"You alright, dude?" the Loboan asked when he set Heath down on the ice.

" _Y-Y-Yeah, t-totally f-f-fine! J-Just give me a f-f-f-few minutes to g-get my spark b-back and I'll be g-good as new!_ "

 _ **TWEET!**_

Clawd shrilly blew his whistle, making Blitzwolfer cringe once more as the werewolf stepped out onto the ice. "Alright, everybody hit the bleachers until Heath recovers! Somebody call Abbey and see if she can't spare a moment to fix the rink before any more accidents happen! And as for you," he instructed before he turned to Deuce and handed him his whistle. "Your in charge until I get back."

"Where you going, dude?" the gorgon asked, accepting the whistle.

"Me and friend of mine just need to have a quick little . . . _chat_." Clawd replied, casting a slight look over his shoulder and Blitzwolfer couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Without another word, the werewolf turned to leave the pool and gestured for Blitzwolfer to follow him. The Loboan only paused slightly before following, completely ignoring how Heath had immediately flared up at the mere mention of Abbey's name and instead focusing on the back of Clawd's head as they left the pool and took to strolling across the school's snow-covered grounds. The lawns muffled almost every sound imaginable once they had walked a far enough distance that they could no longer hear Heath's shouting – presumably as a response to some lewd comment made in Abbey's direction – leaving only the sound of their feet crunching through the snow to fill the silence.

"If this is about the hockey game-"

"It's not about the hockey game."

Blitzwolfer's anxiety only increased. Granted, he was easily taller than the werewolf and equipped with an ultrasonic howl among razor-sharp fangs and claws that could have easily made short work of Clawd in the event things turned sour, but there was something about how he was behaving that prevented him from jumping to conclusions; the Loboan didn't want to admit that it was fear . . . caution, perhaps? He honestly had no clue and that was what nervous. When facing down the likes of Vilgax he could almost always predict how his arch nemesis would behave, always lusting for either his destruction or the Omnitrix depending on the battle at hand. Aside from the stories Draculaura had told him about him, he knew absolutely nothing about Clawd or what his reactions would be.

"So . . . what's this about then?" the Loboan asked.

"It's about you and your relationship with Draculaura." Clawd stated flatly.

The werewolf took note of how Blitzwolfer had become agitated, his ivy eyes narrowing to suspicious slits and his ears flattening slightly against skull. His normally bipedal gait had shifted into a quadrupedal stance that only seemed to emphasis his physical prowess and masculinity and the fur upon his rippling back and muscles had raised substantially from when they first began their walk; Clawd was well aware of all these shifts in behavior.

The Loboan raised his hackles and growled while he plodded through the snow. "What about it?"

Clawd didn't say anything as they continued to trek through the snow, steadily making their way across the frost-covered lawns. Where they were going, if there was a particular goal or destination in mind, remained unknown to Blitzwolfer. For the time being, he opted to keep his acute senses open to his surroundings to see if he couldn't figure it out first on the off hand chance there were ulterior motives at hand with the seemingly harmless walk.

Eventually however, they finally came to a stop in front of one of a handful of ancient trees that bordered the stoned-bricked walls of the school property, particularly the largest tree out of the small grove. Much to Blitzwolfer's surprise, the enormous oak shivered slightly as a pair of shallow hollows slowly creaked open like a set of eyes and an oddly-shaped groove that wrapped about halfway around the trunk seemed to curve up into a wizened smile when they approached; and was it just the Loboan's imagination or did one of it's low-hanging branches wave at them like a hand?

"We're here." Clawd stated.

"What is this place?" Blitzwolfer wondered, taking to standing on his hind legs once more.

An answer didn't come for a few moments as Clawd took a few lumbering steps through the ankle deep snow toward the ancient tree and fondly place a paw on its weathered trunk. "This is where me and Draculaura went on our first date . . . I still remember it like it was yesterday . . ."

The Loboan didn't say anything while he shuffled through the snow to come up by the werewolf's side, and took note of where Clawd had laid his hand. A crudely carved heart with the bold initials of two lovers – a capital 'C' and 'D' punctured by an amateurish arrow – starred back at him from the worn, calloused wood that had weathered many seasons. "Did you have any other ghoulfriends besides her?" he finally asked.

"A few here and there . . . I even dated Cleo for a bit, if you can believe that." Clawd chuckled at the memory. "But Draculaura was the first ghoul that I . . . that I just . . . _felt_ something, I guess. Like I found my other half."

Blitzwolfer couldn't help but feel extremely guilty upon hearing that. It felt like he had just ruined something incredibly beautiful and rare, a once in an unlife experience that could have been centuries or even eons in the making that had been brought crashing down in less than the span of a few months. He loved Draculaura like had never loved anyone else before with all his heart, but even that felt wrong seeing Clawd reminiscing about the times before he had fallen into their lives.

"And then . . . well, I moved away and couldn't bear the thought of leaving my ghoul unhappy," Clawd continued, tracing the crude carving with his claws. "They say that 'if you love something, you should let it go'. I didn't really believe that until Draculaura wasn't in my life any more and I just couldn't bare the thought of leaving her just hanging there without any idea if I would come back or not."

"So ya set her free." Blitzwolfer concluded.

Clawd gave a small smile. "In a way, I guess. It hurt though, man, it hurt like you wouldn't believe. It was like a part of me was missing and I just didn't know where to find it again."

"You miss her." the Loboan seemed to state, though it was almost phrased like a question.

The werewolf sighed. "Yeah, I do." he admitted before he turned to look at him with an expression that Blitzwolfer couldn't quite read. "But if Draculaura's moved on, then I won't pull her back in."

The Loboan seemed startled by this and looked at Clawd with disbelief. "Ya sure? I mean . . . you've been with her longer than I have. Ya know her better than I do, ya know her quirks, her faults, her fears, her desires, her dreams. You two c'n read each other like an open book an' me . . . well, I'm only second rate."

"Dude, if you were second rate, Draculaura would have dumped you the moment me and Clawdeen walked in the door." Clawd consoled him. "Trust me, dude, Draculaura may be a tad naive and a little too obsessed with the color pink, but she's smarter than she looks. If she wasn't attracted to you in some way, I doubt you and I would be having this particular conversation."

Blitzwolfer made an attempt like he were going to argue before he stopped and thought over the werewolf's words. He had to admit, while he had been excited to be the chosen boyfriend of what he learned to be one of the most popular and gore-geous ghouls in all of Monster High, he couldn't help but wonder whether or not Draculaura had only gotten together with him because of his Loboan form, and if he was simply setting himself up for failure again. It was only when they were off school grounds and alone together did she insist that he take upon his original, human form for as long as possible did he realize that she genuinely cared for him and loved him. Most girls of any species would have preferred one of his identities over the other or would have chosen to simply give up on tolerating his heroic line of work, but Draculaura once again proved that she was different than other girls with similar qualities; she had to be one of the most tolerate girls he had ever met.

His mother had always told him that any girl that loved him for he was, was willing to put with his wild shenanigans and tendency to put them in life-threatening situations, and could cook like a goddess then she was a keeper; fortunately, Draculaura covered all three of those bases and more.

"You make her happy, dude, and if you make her happy and if she makes you happy, then I won't step in and mess things up." Clawd continued. "I just need you to promise me one thing."

"What?"

" _Keep_ her happy." the werewolf stated. At that point his brow had creased into a serious face and his eyes had locked firmly with Blitzwolfer's ivy slits. "I don't care how you do it, but make sure that her time with you is the happiest it's been since we broke up. I don't want to hear my sister getting a phone call from Draculaura saying you've been mistreating her or have broken up with her. We might not be dating anymore, but I still care for her and I don't want to see her hurt. If I _do_ see her hurt, I swear by the great Moon Mother that there is nowhere you can hide that I won't find you and tear you limb from limb, got it?"

 _As if you could,_ Blitzwolfer mentally scoffed with his gaze locked with Clawd's. He didn't dare say the words out loud however, he knew that it would only raise questions or possibly get him a fist to muzzle. Plus, he had no intention of _ever_ warranting the ire of the Wolf clan if he could help it, especially if the fate of Draculaura's cousin, Thad, at the hands of Clawdeen were true.

The Loboan nodded. "Got it. Now, c'n _you_ promise me somethin' and let go of my shoulders?"

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_ "

The two canines both simultaneously cringed and perked up at the sound of the shrill scream from a voice that they knew all too well. Any hostilities or promises were quickly forgotten as they turned to charge back towards the school as fast as the snow would allow them with one thing and one thing only on their minds.

" _Draculaura!_ "

* * *

Clawdeen growled irritably as she took up arms against the gelatinous, purple slop that passed as a suitable meal in the Monster High Creepateria. With a grunt she attempted to stab the little blob with her plastic fork and only grew more irritated when the utensil stuck firmly in the mucilaginous membrane and the pile of goo yanked the fork out of her grasp. It narrowed all twenty-four of its beady, little eyes at her and made an attempt to stab her back right in the back of her hand, only to be fended off at the last second by a plastic knife that Clawdeen had grabbed at the last second.

"Nice to see the food quality hasn't changed a bit." the werewolf grunted as she parried a thrust and made another move to try and stab her lunch.

"Such are the advantages of being a vegan." Draculaura giggled at her beastie's antics. "When you dine on Mother Nature's bounty, your food rarely ever fights back!"

Clawdeen scoffed as she continued to fight with her lunch. "I hardly think this qualifies as a plant, Lala. Or an animal. Or a mineral. Or anything really . . ." she grumbled lowly.

"Oh, for love of yak milk . . ." Abbey Bominable rolled her eyes. The yeti stood up from her seat across Clawdeen and rolled her sleeves before pointing a finger at the unaware pile of viscid gel and promptly freezing it in a block of solid ice with the cyro-magic her elders had taught her. "There. Take it from Abbey, is best when cold!"

The werewolf mumbled softly, tapping the frozen meal experimentally with her knife and feeling slightly sorry for the poor creature that had once been her lunch. " _More like frozen solid._ "

Draculaura couldn't help but smile fondly when Frankie offered to thaw out her friend's meal and instead ended up turning it into a shower of dancing snowflakes and little, purple droplets that sprinkled through the air with an all too high blast of electricity. Cleo of course, instantly flew into an over-dramatic display of disgust at the mere thought of one of those little globules landing on her new designer bandages imported all the way from Scaris. Naturally, Lagoona and Ghoulia rolled their eyes at the melodramatic display and went back to eating their steamed seaweed salad and reading the latest issue of their super hero idol, respectively.

It was almost as if their little social group had never been torn apart and it had all been merely a bad dream.

 _Almost_.

"Speaking of solid, where's that thick-headed _friend_ of yours?" Cleo wondered, spitting out the word like she had a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Yeah, I thought you told him to go get lunch for us." Frankie added, glancing down at the empty table before her. Other than Clawdeen and Lagoona – who had to be back in Ms. Kindergrübber's classroom before the end of lunch to catch a batch of cookies in the oven and swim meet before the end of lunc, respectively – none of them had eaten or gotten their lunches yet, not after ordering their newest "underling" to go get it for them.

"I did," Cleo screwed her perfect features into a pouting scowl. "So let me reiterate myself: _where is he?_ "

It was at that moment, over the low din of the Creepateria chatter, that the ghouls heard a pitiful wail coming from the Creepateria kitchen and turned to see Kieran Valetine being shooed by a pair of greatly irritated lunch ladies with what looked like a giant, green amoeba covered in French fries, the remains of a recently tossed salad, a burger, and a great assortment of condiments and cooking utensils. The emo vampire fruitlessly struggled with the disgusting mess that enveloped him like a blanket as he blindly stumbled over to their table, unproductively making any progress in getting the horrible thing off of him. It wasn't until that he blindly tripped over someone's lose foot did the disgusting monstrosity finally left go of him when it went flying through the air . . . and landed right on Draculaura, knocking her to the floor!

"Draculaura!" Lagoona shouted with concern.

" _Augh!_ " the vampire shuddered as the amoeba-like creature hungrily slithered over her body and started to swallow her. "Help me!"

"Hang on!" Frankie shouted. Her neck bolts crackled and sparked with an intense amount of electricity as she rushed to her ghoul friend's aid and jammed her hands into the squishy viscosity of the creature's make up and released a powerful discharge of energy. The monstrosity gave a spine-chilling screech as it lit up like a Cryptmas tree and promptly exploded in a shower of slime, dousing Draculaura in its remains.

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_ " the vampire screamed with utter disgust.

Valentine gave a sheepish smile while he peeled himself off the floor. "Er . . . lunch is served?"

Cleo immediately rounded on the emo vampire with a look that could have given Medusa herself a run for her money while Clawdeen helped Draculaura off the floor and tried not to cringe at the awful smell that assaulted her sensitive nose. Admittedly, the mummy could have been overreacting just a little bit with one of her infamous tantrums, but when one took into consideration the utterly noxious smell that radiated off of the vegan vampire in waves powerful enough to make everyone within a twelve yard radius gag and possibly vomit out their insides, one could say the verbal assault Cleo dealt Valentine was somewhat justified.

That being said however, Valentine had paled several shades further than thought possible for a vampire.

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?" Frankie asked.

"Tell me, Frankie, how would you like to be covered in . . . _that?_ " was the Daughter of the Mummy's response with a slight upturn of her nose that said there would no further argument over the subject.

Clawdeen gave the Egyptian princess was a deadpanned look that borderlined somewhere between anger and exasperation. "C'mon, Draculaura, lets get you-"

The werewolf paused midsetence when another smell that was only slightly more overpowering than the disgusting glop that covered her ghoul friend reached her sensitive nose. " _Sphinx!_ The cookies!" she shouted with panic, hastily running towards the Home Ick room as fast as possible. "Sorry, Draculaura, gotta go!" she hurriedly called over her shoulder.

"I better jet, too, mates. Practice starts in five minutes." Lagoona added, finishing the last of her salad and leaving them to scurry toward the school pool.

The vegan vampire sighed and shook her hands in disgust in an effort to get some of the slime off of her fingers. " _Ugh_ , I'll be right back. I'm going to go freshen up." her features turned sour at the squelching noise.

"Don't take too long," Cleo then turned her attention back to Valentine, who up until this point had attempted to crawl away and try to salvage what little of his dignity he had left before he bumped into Abbey's boots, took one look up at the irritated yeti, and decided that he wanted to keep all his internal organs where they belonged. "And as for you, go back to the kitchen and get us some _real_ lunch, _slave._ "

"I'm not your servant! I'm-" the emo vampire attempted to argue before he got another cold glare from the mummy and was quickly alerted to the presence of a certain abominable snowman directly behind him with a crack of her knuckles and neck. "I'm going right back to the kitchen . . ."

Abbey smirked to herself as she watched him sulk off. "Heh, heh, is fun to mess with. Is weak like newborn yak in snow storm."

"I couldn't agree more," Cleo scowled with her arms folded over her bust. "All bite, no vampire as I always say."

All the while, Ghoulia had been pleasantly buried in her comic book and was more than happy to tune out the voices of her friends while they belittled their temporary servant for his mistakes – better that Cleo vent out all her pent up family-related stress on someone who had it coming than her, her boyfriend, or any of her roughly ten-thousand servants. Despite this fact, Ghoulia felt a frown cross her lips when she casually glanced up from her comic as she turned the page and noticed that Valentine wasn't making his way towards the kitchen, but was instead stalking down a hallway away from them.

The very same hallway Draculaura had taken.

The zombie moaned with exasperation and closed her beloved comic book to take off her horn-rimmed glasses and tiredly pinch her brow. It was going to be one of _those_ days where they got dragged into some crazy adventure or mishap that always somehow ended up working out in the end by some miracle of the universal laws that eluded her and always ended up wasting more time than was necessary. She would be obligated to warn her friends about the emo vampire's odd behavior, they would go investigate, undoubtedly come across they clearly weren't suppose to see, possibly risk their lives, and then bring the whole thing to a close within a semi-reasonable time frame if past experience had taught her anything.

And just when she was getting to the good part, too . . .

* * *

Draculaura sighed as she twisted the faucet and was met with the sound of water gushing into the basin. Glancing up she was met with the familiar sight of her clothes and little bat-shaped earrings floating around in midair, devoid of any body to attach themselves to. It was one of the downsides of being a vampire, but she learned to deal with it. She paid it little mind however and went about scrubbing her hands and washing her face and steadily chipping away at the layers of slowly drying slime that caked her body.

Even if she still wasn't overly fond of Valentine, she felt that she could at least find it in her heart to forgive him for such a simple accident. After all, the Creepateria had been fairly crowded today and monsters had accidents all the time, she knew that first hand given how often she and her friends found themselves in bizarre and sometimes even dangerous situations. Of course, that hardly compared to the adventures and escapades of her boyfriend.

The vegan vampire sighed dejectedly at the thought of Ben. It wasn't that she didn't find his Loboan form unattractive, but she honestly preferred his human form over any of his transformations. She wasn't sure if it was her heavily suppressed vampirish instincts itching at the back of her mind or if she really did like his original form more than his alien disguises; she couldn't help but believe that he was the most handsome human boy she had ever laid eyes on – and she had seen _many_ humans in near millennium-and-a-half of unlife.

The Daughter of Dracula just wished that she didn't have to continuously parade with one of her boyfriend's many alter egos. He still had yet to reveal his true identity to Monster High's student body and other than herself, only the headmistress and an initially very reluctant Abbey Bombinable was aware of his second self. It honestly made her greatly disappointed as she wanted to spend more time with him instead of having to put it off until the rare movie night when all of her ghoul friends were too busy to spend time with her. Until he felt it was safe enough to expose himself to the monster community, it was deception and secrets from everyone, even her closest friends.

The overly pink vampire still had hope though. After all, if a ghoul as cold and icy in personality as Abbey could actually grow to love and care for Ben like a brother, then other monsters could grow to accept a human within their midst, right?

Draculaura's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door creaking open. "Frankie? Cleo? Is that you?" she asked as she twisted off the faucet.

The only response she got was the sound of water dripping from the pipes, a rather unpleasant sound in itself that only got worse when amalgamated with crushing silence.

"Abbey? Ghoulia?" the vampire's voice quivered slightly.

Again she was met with nothing but silence and the dripping of water from the leaky faucets, the lack of sound making her nerves and anxious to the mysterious presence she couldn't sense yet. Her vampire senses were failing her, her acute hearing that could pick up on the most subtle of heartbeats heard no one and her sensitive eyes that could see in absolute darkness were blind to the unseen intruder. Perhaps she was just imagining things?

"B-Ben . . . if that's you, you aren't suppose to be in here . . . this isn't funny!" Draculaura swallowed nervously.

Her pointed ears pricked up at the sound of heavy breathing just barely echoing off the walls and she followed her heightened senses with her eyes towards a dark, shaded corner in the shadow of one of the bathroom stalls near the door. If she squinted just the slightest bit she could make out a pair of eyes starring back at her that seemed to simmer and glow like a set of hot embers.

"C-Clawdeen, is that you?" Draculaura called out.

 _Big_ mistake.

By the time she remembered that her beast friend didn't have eyes the color of blood, there was a sudden blur as whomever or whatever the eyes belonged to lunged out of the shadows with inhuman speed and slammed into her with the force of a charging bull. The wind was knocked out of her as she went flying and there was an almighty _crack!_ as her skull was bashed against the opposite wall. The vampire's vision spun and blurred through the throbbing pain in her head as she struggled to make out what had just crashed into her. And why was it so hard to breath? Had the collar of her blouse always been this tight or was it just her imagination?

"Finally . . . it took forever, but I _finally_ have you alone . . ."

Draculaura's eyes widen with realization. " _Valentine?_ " she managed to choke out. Why was it so hard to breath? Was she that shocked?

"Not quite, but close enough, _darlin'_." the emo vampire grinned maliciously from out of the corner of her eyes. Once her vision had started to clear just a little bit, she had come to the recognition that she was being held about a foot off the floor above Valentine's head with his hand firmly gripping her neck and slowly squeezing tighter and tighter with every passing second.

" _I . . . should h-have known . . ._ " she rasped, his hand crushing her windpipe.

The vindictive leer upon Valentine's face only increased. "I really am glad you didn't, my dear. Otherwise _this_ would have so much more complicated than it needed to be." he teased her as he reached into the folds of his dress coat and produced a large, wooden stake easily as long as a ruler.

Draculaura swallowed nervously – or at least attempted to – at the sight of one of the few things capable of destroying her kind. It was an unfortunate well known fact that wooden stakes were a vampire's worst nightmare as they could be so easily unassuming in comparison to seemingly more conventional weapons and if that weren't enough to make a vampire hiss with fear, they were relatively easy to make. Quite literally anyone with a blade and a wooden stick could make a half-decent wooden stake on the fly.

"I've taken a few precautionary measures as well." Valentine chuckled darkly. It was then that the vegan vampire noticed through her distorted vision that the stake was visibly soaked in some sort of liquid and gave off a powerful odor that wasn't so much disgusting as it was incredibly unnerving. "Holy water and garlic juice. One can never be too careful when dealing with your kind."

" _Wh . . . Wh-What about y-you . . ?_ " Draculaura wheezed.

If it was even possible, Valentine grinned even bigger with his grip tightening even further. "Funny thing about emo vampires, _dear_ ," he sneered at the word. "We're pretty much invulnerable to anything that would make you blood-sucking parasites run screamin' for the hills; sunlight, silver, garlic, even decapitation, we're pretty much immune. Funny how evolution works that way."

Draculaura found herself uncharacteristic and profoundly cursing the laws of nature in her head for creating and allowing such a stupidly over-powered creature to even evolve in the first place. Of course, that wasn't going to do her much good now considering there was a likely chance that she was going to escape a few horrible injuries or not escape at all. Wooden stakes were bad enough – given how easily they cut through her skin like paper – but holy water and garlic juice might as well have been the equivalent of acid.

But there was one simple thing she wanted to know before she disintegrated into the finest of ashes as all vampires do upon death. " _Why . . ?_ "

Valentine cocked his head like a curious bird, his sinister leer only increasing as he starred at her. "How naive. Hard to believe you can't see it." he chuckled darkly while he slithered close to her and whispered in her ear, his voice sending unpleasant shivers rippling across her pink skin. "But I won't trouble your pretty head with the details. All you need to know is that I'm going to kill you, there is nothing you can do about it, and that no one is going to come save you because . . . this is the beginning of the end of your kind . . ."

Even if the vampire wanted to call out for help, the strangulation of her throat prevented any sort of sound short of pitiful, bat-like squeaks and hoarse rasping from being loud enough for someone to come to her aid. Draculaura could already see her life flashing before her eyes, all 1,600 years of it; she saw her ailing mother wither away in her bed at the hands of an incurable disease, her father's fangs as he turned her into a vampire to spare her life, the glint of pitchforks in the torch light as she and her father fled from Transylvania, the luscious, chocolate locks of Clawdeen when they met for the first time, the golden orbs of Clawd when they looked at one another and felt something instantly click, the blast of green metamorphic light that came from the device upon Ben's wrist when they met for the first time . . . and all 1,600 years of it were going to end at the hand of a sharpened piece of wood.

Fate seemed to have a twisted sense of humor if it was going to let Valentine win.

 _ **SLAM! CRASH!**_

" _DRACULAURA!_ "

Then again, fate seemed to have had a change of heart.

"What the-" was all Valentine managed to say before he was roughly grabbed the back of his jacket and hurled back through the air, his grip on the wooden stake and Draculaura's neck slipping lose. The vampire gave a much needed gasp as fresh air flowed into her lungs and she sunk to the floor, curling into a near fetal position while she tried to steady herself. She could feel a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her and pull her close to a strong chest and relief coursed through her body as she snuggled into the warmth. The sounds of a fight from nearby intruded upon her ears, but she pushed them out in favor of fighting back tears of alleviation at being spared from Death's cold hand.

After a few minutes of recovery that felt like hours to her, Draculaura eventually had pulled herself together enough that she was able to identify who her comforter was. "Clawd?"

"I'm right here, ghoul." he sighed with relief. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Me, too," the vampire gave a small smile while she unconsciously rubbed at the sore, aching feeling in her neck where Valentine's fingers had bruised the skin. "Where's Ben?"

Clawd raised an eyebrow. "Who's Ben?"

Draculaura felt her metaphorical blood run cold at the realization of her mistake and was mentally cursing herself for being so careless. She cursed even further when she realized that she had outwardly cringed enough for Clawd to pick up on her frustration. "W-Well . . . I haven't _exactly_ been an honest monster . . ." she chuckled nervously. "You see, I haven't told you _everything_ about my new boyfriend . . ."

Before Clawd could ask what she meant by that, his attention was drawn back to scuffle coming from behind them and he turned to see Valentine tackle Blitzwolfer to the floor, the emo vampire matching the Loboan strength for strength with ease. It was one of those rare times that Clawd hated that werewolves and vampires had so much in common, such as their predatory habits, aversion silver, and similar levels of athleticism, preventing either species from getting an upper hand on one another.

"You mangy mutt! You've ruined everything!" Valentine snarled, angrily grabbing fistfuls of the Loboan's fur.

"Mangy? Try smelling your own breath sometime, Fang Face!" Blitzwolfer growled as he managed to shift his legs under the emo vampire's stomach and push him off of him with a quick kick to his gut. The vampire went tumbling out into the hallway through the open doorway – the actual door lay knocked off its hinges on the floor – where he crashed into a set of lockers and was immediately pounced upon by the furious Loboan. He viciously bared his teeth at the emo vampire, more than ready to put them and his wicked claws to good use, only to let out a startled whine when Valentine ruthlessly drove his foot into his crotch; the vampire readily took advantage of the recoiling Loboan and proceeded to deck him twice across the face in quick succession before landing a roundhouse kick to his chest.

Blitzwolfer grunted as he dug his claws into the carpet, leaving deep trails in the floor as he skidded back and finally came to a stop; with a low growl, he drew in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. A thunderous, ultrasonic howl that seemed to decimate the sound barrier erupted from the back of his throat straight at Valentine, just barely catching him off by surprise. The emo vampire crossed his arms over his face to act as a shield at the last second in an attempt to resist the intense amount of force from pushing against him, but was ultimately unable to do so and hurled back through the air.

Only to catch himself mid-fall and start levitating in the air.

"Oh, come on! _Flying?_ " the Loboan griped with annoyance. "Emotional vampires are such cheats!"

"Says the talking fleabag with a megaphone for a mouth." Valentine shook his head to shake himself out of his daze. Before Blitzwolfer could attempt to retort with a comeback, the vampire came shooting straight at him with fists outstretched and collided with his jaw with a loud _crack!_ The alien werewolf was sent flying down the hallway where he bounced twice against the floor before coming to a stop, staggering to his feet when Valentine collided with him again and began to ruthless pummel him.

By now the sounds of the brawl had drawn the attention of students and staff alike from the surrounding classrooms and a substantial crowd had begun to gather as the two monsters duked it out against one another. Despite the futile attempts from the teachers to put a stop to the fight, the over all noise level of the students as they cheered on the two monsters ultimately drone them out, particularly the curses and insults that were sent Valentine's way whenever he seemed to gain the upperhand.

"Ben! Watch out!" Draculaura cried mere seconds before Blitzwolfer took an uppercut to the jaw.

"Who the Sphinx is this 'Ben' you keep talking about?" Clawd wondered with concern as they watched the fight. The Loboan managed to get an edge over his opponent when he cut the emo vampire's arm in his mouth and roughly shook him about like bulldog before hurling him to the floor, cursing when Valentine took to the air at the last second. "Aren't you suppose to be rooting for Blitzwolfer?"

"I am . . . in a way." Draculaura tried to explain indirectly. "It's . . . complicated . . ."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough." was all the vegan vampire would say. She opted to continue watching the fight instead of meeting her ex-boyfriend's gaze, contemplating and hoping against hope that the universe would grant her a free pass again. She didn't know what would happen if Blitzwolfer's secret was revealed; it could anything, really. He could be accepted by her fellow monsters, he could labeled a spy or traitor and have his very guts hated, or there could some third option entirely that she hadn't even considered. If there was one thing she had learned during her time with her boyfriend, it was to always expect the unexpected.

"Draculaura!"

The Daughter of Dracula perked up at the call of her name and looked through the sea of excited students and panicked staff to see Clawdeen pushing her way through the crowd toward her with Frankie, Cleo, Abbey, Ghoulia, Lagoona, Howleen, Twyla, and Gigi following close behind her while sneaking peeks at the fight; each side seemed to be matching each other blow for blow without difficulty or signs of fatigue, as if they were fully committed to putting a permanent end to one another.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Clawdeen asked before she caught sight of Valentine grabbing hold of Blitzwolfer, hurling up into the air, and then slamming him back down to the ground in a painful anvil drop. " _I knew he was up to something!_ "

Howleen grumbled under her breath. "So you kept reminding us . . ." she muttered. She probably would have continued even further and gotten more profound had Twyla not given her hand a squeeze that triggered an immediate blush of the werewolf's features.

"I'm calling Whisp. She needs to come get her boyfriend back under control." Gigi stated as she hurriedly pulled out her iCoffin and began to dial her sister's number. The genie gave a startled yelp when a thunderous roar flared from Blitzwolfer's hinged jaws as he unleashed another ultrasonic howl that had the surrounding crowd scrambling to cover their ears while trying to make sense of what was happening.

"I must be hearing things," Clawdeen shook her head, disoriented. "I could have sworn I heard a beeping noise."

"You're not hearing things." Draculaura reassured her.

"Since when are you so cryptic?" Clawd wondered, getting increasingly worried. Was there something about Blitzwolfer that his ex-ghoulfriend was trying to warn him about but was too afraid to tell him directly? Did she fear her boyfriend's wrath? Was he abusing her? A multitude of horrific thoughts swarmed through his head like a nest of angry wasps. "And what is that beeping sound?"

The vegan vampire didn't give an answer and instead pointed a finger towards the fight. Blitzwolfer had dropped down to all fours and was panting heavily, his chest puffing in and out as his arm cradled what might have been a painful wound he had sustained from the beating he was getting. He glowered spitefully at Valentine as he stood floating over him with a smug smile of triumph over his face.

"Look at you, kneeling before me like the scum you are." the emo vampire laughed. "Just who do you think you are that you think you can stand up to me?"

Blitzwolfer was about to retort when he became aware of a sudden beeping noise. He gulped and glanced down at the collar around his neck, the Omnitrix rapidly flashing a warning green that got faster and faster with every second before it became a steady beam.

"Uh, oh." the Loboan gulped before he was suddenly swallowed in a flash of green light. His body began to shrink and compress, his strong, tight muscles shriveling and loosening up as his powerful arms withered into the equivalent of fleshy, bony noodles; his fingers cracked and ground heavily as they shrank into thin rods and the sharp, pointed claws on the end became short, stubby fingernails. His legs snapped as the extra joint in them disappeared, becoming the stiff pole that was his ankle while the long, fluffy tail at the base of his spine was slurped back into him like a long piece of spaghetti. Ben's face crunched and compressed as it was shoved back inwards into a rough ball shape, his pointed ears becoming small, round disks once more as they moved back to either side of his head. The shaggy coat of fur was shed slowly, gradually shifting back into Ben's body as the large mane on his shoulders and head was reduced to a scruffy, brown patch of hair on his head while his teeth ground against each other until they were flat and even instead of dagger-like spikes. The sharp talons on his toes were reduced to toenails as three small toes popped back into existence one after the other; a black T-shirt with green trimming and a white number ten in the center, a pair of brown pants, and a pair of green and white sneakers appeared on him as the Omnitrix reappeared on his wrist, ending the transformation.

A collective gasp came from the crowd when the blast of green light down and revealed a human boy with a deep, chocolate brown hair and piercing, green eyes the color of fresh ivy. He wore a black shirt with a green stripe and a white 10 down the middle, a pair of brown cargo pants with pockets at the knees, and a pair of green and white shoes. Fixed upon his left wrist was an bizarre, watch-like device with a strange, hourglass-like symbol etched into the face.

A complete and total silence had washed over the sea of monsters and Draculaura felt Clawd instinctively tighten his grip on her, as if wary of their sudden arrival. Looking around, she could varying expressions on a multitude of faces, a good majority of them being of shock and awe while others were of disgust and hatred; a few even had what could have only been an odd sense of lust and desire, but she chose to ignore those in favor of the unforgettable mask of utter surprise that Valentine wore at the sight of her boyfriend's true form.

"A . . . a _human?_ " he sputtered with disbelief. "There's another human in this god forsaken place?"

"Not for long!" Ben quipped, choosing to ignore his sudden publicity.

Before Valentine or anyone else could even fathom what he was doing, Ben tapped the Omnitrix and slammed his hand down upon the activation button, swallowing himself in a blast of brilliant green light. His frame cracked and crunched loudly as his body gradually grew taller, his bones grinding when they grew stronger and thicker to support his increasing weight and bulk. Ben's jaw thrust out into an underbite that allowed his lower canines to curve out over his upper lip while a coarse itching snaked its way across his body as thick, shaggy hair began to grow all over him and only added to his impressive size. Thousands of muscles and tissue packed themselves tightly across his arms and chest, swelling them to impressive proportions in response to his hands and fingers trembling and exploding in size and strength, each finger more than capable of crushing a soda can with a single flick. Metallic knobs and bumps thrust themselves out from his wrists and thick neck and his feet shifted with a series of snaps and cracks that moved his big toe out in an ape-like fashion. Ben's brow grew heavy, giving him a permanently irked expression and suddenly sprouted a three-horned prong from between his heavy eyes; the Omnitrix appeared around his waist in the form of a belt, completing the transformation.

The Gimlinopithecus roared as he crashed his fists together and an electric surge coursed its way across his body, raising various 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the crowd. "Try Shocksquatch on for size, eh!"

"Is _this_ what you were talking about?" Clawd watched in amazement as the Gimlinopithecus fired off an intense beam of electricity at Valentine and struck him in the chest. The emo vampire howled as energy fried his nerves and danced across his skin and sent his body into momentary paralysis that sent him dropping out of the air. Shocksquatch met him halfway with a fist to the gut that sent him flying over the heads of the crowd and far down the hallway where he crashed into the opposite wall and fair dozen yards away or so.

Draculaura nodded and watched with a smile as Shocksquatch bunched up his legs and took a flying leap over the crowd of students and staff, landing clear on the other side as he continued to charge right at Valentine. With a roar he delivered a swift uppercut to the vampire's jaw and caught him by the neck and chest in one of his enormous hands, his fur already standing on end with static electricity. "Just who do you think are, eh?" he snarled.

"I would ask the same question." Valentine growled as he swiftly kicked the Gimlinopithecus in the face and dropped down to the ground upon release. "I thought I was alone in my plans, but it seems I may have an opportunity to make beneficial partner out of you."

Shocksquatch grunted as he ignored the pain in his face and clenched his fist. "What the heck 're you talkin' about?"

Valentine laughed heartily. "Oh, come now, you can drop the act, my friend. We're all allies here." he smiled charmingly. "After all, we _are_ both humans, right?"

"Last I checked, humans didn't have needles for teeth." Shocksquatch locked his jaw and attempted to wipe the smug smile off of the emo vampire's face with a quick movement of his fist. Valentine effortlessly leaped over the blow and landed on his feet with an air of delicacy that shouldn't have been possible for someone of his size.

"Appearances can be quite deceiving my friend." Valentine grinned toothily. "Does the name 'Van Hellscream' mean anything to you?"

"What, ya mean that slimy, gutless, racist bastard with the ugly facial hair?"

Valentine's features faltered for a second and screwed up into a most unpleasant expression. "How dare you say such things about- er, where did you hear that? From these . . . _monsters_ , I presume?"

It was at that point that the Gimlinopithecus was able to put two and two together. He had heard stories of the terrible and awful things that the monster hunter known as Van Hellscream had committed against monster kind, varying from infiltrating monster communities and destroying them from the inside out by turning one species against another or outright slaughtering some monsters and then proceeding to mount them upon his trophy wall like they were wild game. Shocksquatch of course, had never met the sinister man, but he had heard the stories and just saying his name was more than enough to give some monsters nightmares for weeks on end at the thought of Van Hellscream paying them a final visit.

But what he had also heard was that the man also the ego to match his skill, and if the stories were true, it was _massive._

"Alright, I'll make a deal ya, eh," Shocksquatch grinned cockily. "Why don't _you_ drop the act an' I don't blow ya out like a three-watt . . . _Van Hellscream._ "

"Ah, so there _is_ a brain in there." Valentine grinned with a mixture of relief and sinister excitement. "Let's dispense with the pleasantries, shall we? Join me, the winning side, and I will make you a hero, boy. With that much raw power on your wrist, we will be an unstoppable forth against monster kind! We would be able to wage a full-scale war against them with ease and wipe them clean off the face of the earth, securing humanity's place as the dominant species! Monsters may claim that they want peace, but I see through their lies! Join me, boy, and we will put the monsters in their place and you will forever be known as a legend, the one who saved the human race from extinction at the hands of those vile creatures!"

The Gimlinopithecus briefly contemplated the disguised monster hunter's words, tapping his chin with a finger and glancing over his shoulder at the crowd of monsters that were watching them both a diverse array of expressions. He could see looks of fear at the realization of what would happen if he agreed to turn against them, of hope that he would instead choose to defend them, of nail-biting anxiety at the thought of what might happen in the aftermath of either decision.

There was a chance that even if he did defeat Van Hellscream that he would be shunned from the school by classmates that he had once called friends. They might see him as a traitor, a spy, and chase him out of their lives out of fear of what might happen if he stuck around. His attempts to try and sort things out in the human community of New Salem had turned absolutely disastrous when his alien powers were discovered . . . what would happen here?

And when his gaze fell upon Draculaura, wrapped in the protective embrace of Clawd starring back at him with those beautiful pools of lavender that he had fallen so deeply in love with, he knew what choice he would make without hesitation. Even if there was a chance of him being separated from her forever, it was still the choice he was going to make.

"Thanks fer the offer, eh," Shocksquatch eventually spoke up. "But answer me this first though. How exactly are ya a vampire in the first place? I don't see an Omnitrix on ya."

Van Hellscream grinned like a child that had just heard they were going to spend the entire day at an amusement park on their birthday. He was so close to being immortalized, so close to finally having something that would secure his place as a legendary figure in human history for generations to come! To think, victory was within his grasp and all he had to do was tell his newest weapon of war one measly little secret; it was too perfect for words.

"Quite simple, my boy," he was all too happy to explain as he reached into the folds of his jacket and pulled out a rounded tailsman attached to a thin cord with markings that made it bare a striking resemblance to a skull of sorts. "Behold, the Tailsman of Circe. By collecting a DNA sample from any individual, I can flawless assume that individual's identity with all their powers, abilities, and memories at my fingertips! Now then, have you reach a decision?"

Shocksquatch grinned. "Yeah, I got one for ya. I'm gonna take that stupid tailsman of yours and then wipe that stupid smile off yer face."

The Gimlinopithecus roared as the electricity that had been building up in his fur reached in all time high when he brought his fists crashing down on the floor, ending out a powerful electric current into his surroundings. At first nothing happened and it seemed the sudden discharge had been a waste of energy . . . that is, until the very walls started to tremble and quake. A loud rattling sound filled the air as the lockers lining the hallways shook in their place before one by one in a massive rippling effect they were torn clean off the walls and into the air where they collided to form into a gigantic ball of miscellaneous matter that had been lying around or unintentionally yanked free from unwary monsters' grasps; pencils, textbooks, a couple of skateboards, headphones, iCoffins and glasses that hadn't been securely placed, desks that had been pulled from the nearby classrooms, all of it hovered above Shocksquatch's head in an enormous chaotic storm of electricity and matter.

Draculaura watched with a proud smile at the petrified look on Van Hellscream's stolen features. "Go get him, Ben!" she cheered.

"Gladly!" the Gimlinopithecus clapped his hands together in a mighty lightning bolt.

There was a blinding blast of energy that immediately followed as all the electricity and matter that Shocksquatch had collected came crashing down in one crushing blow, as if Zeus' mighty thunderbolt itself had come crashing down from the heavens to smite some poor fool that had accidentally angered him and incurred his wrath. What could only be compared to a sonic boom followed the explosion of energy accompanied by the screeching and screaming of metal being twisted and compacted beyond its original shape, all tied together with the wonderful solo of agony that Van Hellscream sang in C minor.

After what felt like an eon of intense smiting at the hand of a mortal god, the lightning began to die down and fizzle out, leaving many members of the onlooking crowd temporarily blind or deaf as they tried to comprehend what had just happened. Thin tendrils of smoke curled off of Shocksquatch's body while he stood over a pile of smoldering scrap and metal, a foul stench wafting through the air. A low groan came from the pile of twisted alloy and the Gimlinopithecus carefully pushed aside a scrap of metal to reveal the simmering mask of Van Hellscream wearing Valentine's face.

"I'll be takin' that, eh." Shocksquatch picked up the Tailsman of Circe between two of his fingers and promptly crushed it.

An effect immediately began to take place as Valentine's features rippled and wavered like water before the Gimlinopithecus' very eyes, morphing and shifting into something new. The abnormally pale skin started to deep into a soft peach in color with his black locks doing the complete opposite and bleaching into a bright blonde and gold. Strands of facial hair began to sprout from his upper lip and chin, growing into what most would consider to be a manly beard and his attire changed from that of an upperclass jacket and dress shirt to a medium-green jacket with a white undershirt and leopard-print ascot.

"Geez, eh, that mug's uglier than I thought." Shocksquatch chuckled slightly.

At the mere sound of those words, Van Hellscream's piercing blue eyes flashed open and he inhaled a deep breath from the pit of his stomach. The Gimlinopithecus had mere seconds to brace himself before a beam of intense heat came firing from the monster hunter's forehead and struck him square in the chest, blasting him back where he landed painfully on the ground. Shocksquatch groaned and sat up rubbing his skull as the Omnitrix gave a series of dying beeps and timed out in a flash of green light, returning Ben to the world once more.

By now, Van Hellscream had pulled himself out of the pile of scrap metal and was leering maliciously at him like a hungry wolf might do when surveying over a flock of helpless sheep just ripe for the picking. His long, golden locks were suspended in the air by invisible wind undetectable to anyone else and his eyes glowed with an intense, burning fire; he radiated with so much power and heat that Ben was already sweating just by looking at him. "Insolent boy . . . did you really think I would come so ill prepared?" he gloated darkly. "There's a reason I'm such an expert on monster kind!"

"Dude, you seriously need to cool off." Ben glared at him. Without another word he tapped the Omnitrix and cycled through his roster before coming across the transformation he was looking for and bringing his hand down on the waiting core; a blast of green metamorphic light enveloped him.

The brunette felt the bones in his feet crack and crunch loudly as his fingers were forced together to form a pair of large, sharp talons and hallux that quickly solidified with the rest of his skin. Chitin the color of night appeared in small patches on his arms and legs, steadily fusing together with his skin when they traveled up his ankles and across his shoulders, criss-crossing down over his chest and back. Ben's organs squelched and pulsed deep within his tissue, the bones pushing themselves past his muscles and fat and amalgamating with his skin, morphing into a durable exoskeleton that darkened to a shade of clouded onyx. His hands hissed and popped as joints were forced together and fingers joined to form a pair of sharp claws and thumb; the back of his shirt ripped open when two pairs of large, leathery wings sprouted from his back and pushed themselves out from beneath his shoulder blades. The wings still glistened with moisture when a a set of feathery antennae peeled away from the back of his scalp and his teeth fused together into grinding plates. Blue blotches and spots flashed along his arms and legs while the Omnitrix appeared around his waist, completing the transfiguration.

"Big Chill? Perfect . . ." the Necrofriggian glanced at his black claws and gave what had to be the creepiest smile Van Hellscream had seen in all his days.

Nevertheless, the monster hunter gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as a talisman hanging around his neck glowed a boil red in color and hot fire erupted from his forehead in a concentrated beam of intense, scorching heat. Big Chill didn't miss a bit and immediately countered with a blast of freezing breath that collided straight on with the incoming fire and swiftly counteracted it, the two of them holding each other at a stand still.

"Do you like it?" Van Hellscream sneered. "The Charm of Shiva. The Talisman of Agni. The Amulet of Anja. It allows the wearer to focus their chi and fire it out in searing hot flames of destruction. A wonderful piece I procured from some fire elementals the last time I was in Bangladesh."

The Necrofriggian briefly took a pause to retort and catch his breath before resuming his icy assault upon the monster hunter, his wings subconsciously unfurling and flaring out to their full extent. "Spare me the details . . ."

Van Hellscream's sinister grin only deepened as he inhaled a second deep breath and fired off a second, more powerful inferno. He knew that disgusting, vaguely moth-like creature was stalling his demise and those that he considered to be his comrades – a truly ridiculous notion in his opinion – in some foolish attempt to try and come up with a means of defeating him. It wasn't of any concern to him, he was confident in his abilities to defeat any monster, to instantly analyze any monster that dared to cross his path and pick out their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Despite this, even he was not ready for what came next.

"Draculaura! Clawd! Everyone! Get down!" Big Chill hissed.

The mob of monsters did so without hesitation and all but practically threw themselves to the floor and watched in amazement as the Necrofriggian's figure shimmered and wavered and suddenly disappeared before their very eyes, leaving nothing but the faint outline of his figure to signify that he was still there. Van Hellscream watched with wide eyes as his line of fire passed harmless through his opponent's transparent form and smashed into the opposite far, far, far down the hallway in a fire explosion.

Before the monster hunter could attempt to fire off another combustible explosion, the ghostly form of the Necrofriggian came swooping at him like a demented phantom. The temperature seemed to drop and the very seemed to get colder and colder the closer and closer his opponent got to him, a whispering rasp accompanying him with every movement. Van Hellscream so desperately wanted to destroy the one that had the audacity to refuse his offer and see things for what they truly were but found the words falter in his throat and the movements flounder in his mind.

He let out a scream as Big Chill came hurtling right at him and instinctively shielded himself for the inevitable impact that was to come. It never came and instead all he felt was the most unsettling cold he had ever had the displeasure of feeling; it made his skin crawl, his muscles stiffen, his bones tense up, and even invoke his very soul to recoil at the feeling of such bitter cold. And it was only when the cold seemed to intensify did he realize just what was happening to him. Van Hellscream watched in horror as ice crystals formed across his skin, rapidly generating and molding together along his arms and legs and traveling across his chest and back and up his neck.

He attempted to fruitlessly conjure another blast of fiery chi to aid him, only to come face to face with those same, soulless eyes that had watched him struggle and stagger through the bone-chilling cold. His movements became further and further restricted the more ice that formed across his body and soon enough he couldn't move at all, much less even shout or scream; the ice had managed to worm its way into his very insides and bring all functions of his body to a halt, save for the movement of his eyes. He was trapped in a block of solid ice, frozen for a fraction of a second of a time where he did not age and did not wither, doomed to forever watch as the world passed by without him until he was thawed out.

And there he was, the very being that had done this to him. Van Hellscream couldn't even turn away if he wanted to as he watched one of those freezing hands come reaching for him, the inky blackness of its claws turning intangible once more and piercing through his prison's defenses with ease. He watched as the Necrofriggian grabbed hold of the Charm of Shiva from around his neck and snap the cord with a quick tug; the necklace faded from his vision, save for the familiar ghostly outline of its new owner. The monster hunter couldn't resist when Big Chill then phased his hand through his very chest, the tips of his claws just barely grazing his skin when he grabbed hold of all the talismans and charms he had brought with him and severed them all at once with a quick snap of his wrist, leaving him absolutely powerless and trapped.

"Stay frosty . . . you're going to be here for a while." were Big Chill's last words as he withdrew from Van Hellscream and disappeared beyond the limits of his icy prison.

The Necrofriggian then turned his attention towards the charms and talisman and puffed a frosty breath on them before shattering them like glass with a clench of his fist; the Omnitrix gave a series of dying beeps and proceeded to time out in a flash of green light, returning Ben to the world.

"Ben!" Draculaura immediately tore herself free of Clawd's wary possession and pushed herself through the crowd until she tackled Ben to the ground and hugged him tightly with an embrace that would have put a python's crushing coils to shame; Ben was pretty sure he had bruised ribs by the time the vampire had loosened her hold on him. "I was so worried about you! Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

The brunette chuckled and returned his ghoulfriend's hug full embrace. "What're you worrying about me for? Universe's Greatest Hero, remember? If anything, I should be worried about you!" he grinned before realization struck his face and he became panicked. "Are you alright? What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?"

The vegan vampire giggled at her boyfriend's alarm and placed a quick kiss upon his cheek to calm him. "I'm fine, Ben. My neck is a little sore, but I'm alright . . . thanks to you." she added with a crimson tone to her otherwise roseate features.

"That's a relief." Ben sighed with alleviation. The two of them sat there in silence for a few seconds before the full reality of what might have happened had things gone completely differently came crashing down upon them in an emotional tidal wave of anger and joy and sorrow and passion. Without hesitation they were upon one another, more than just relieved that the other was unharmed. Draculaura pressed her lips to Ben's and was immediately enveloped in his tight clasp, her fangs just barely grazing his lips as she threw her arms around his neck and deepened their embrace. The vampire deeply inhaled his scent and buried herself deeper into him, pressing her frame against his own so that they might become one and never be apart ever again; she felt his fingers in her hair and along her lower back, pulling her closer to him and she was more than happy to oblige, wishing that the moment would last forever.

Unfortunately, the need for oxygen was enough of an incentive that they were eventually forced apart, breathless and stained a cardinal hue when they gazed lovingly at one another with tinted cheeks, their grasp on one another white-knuckled and tight.

It was only when they heard the wolf whistle and consequential yelp from Heath as Abbey smacked him upside the head did they realize that they had an audience and immediately flare up with embarrassment at having been so intimate in front of a crowd.

Ben coughed awkwardly as he rose up from the floor with Draculaura in his embrace and promptly shoved his hands deep into his pockets while he took a side step away from the vegan vampire. "I'll, uh . . . I'll just see myself out . . ." he mumbled.

"Oh, no, you don't." Clawdeen growled, her golden gaze steely and her arms folded crossly over her bust. "You ain't leavin' my ghoul friend hangin' 'less you wanna find out what it's like to be neutered with a rusty spoon."

Ben blinked in disbelief. "Are you . . . are you seriously?"

It was Clawd's turn to cough awkwardly while he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly "Totally. Look, let's be real here, man. I don't like the way you lied to us all from the beginning, I pretty sure none of us do. It's not cool . . . even though I can probably guess the reasons why you lied to us through your fangs in the first place . . ." the werewolf cast a glare over in Manny Taur's direction – who was doing his best to look as friendly around Jackson Jekyll as possible – before returning his attention to Ben. "But what you did back there . . . I'm willing to let bygones be bygones."

"Really?" Ben gaped.

Clawd nodded . "Really, man. Anyone that saves my ghoul . . . er, _ex-ghoul_ is a friend of mine. Just don't be messin' around with her, alright? Just because you aren't actually a werewolf doesn't mean I won't turn you into _my_ personal chew toy if I find out you've been toyin' with her, got it?"

Ben quickly nodded, a tad too starstruck to fully comprehend the words that were being directed at him. He was far too busy analyzing the different reactions of his fellow classmates to deceit and deception; he could already see a few faces of acceptance – some quite reluctant – and for that he was both relieved and grateful, to have some form of allies in this new world he had slowly grown to become accustomed to. That being said, there were many masks of acrimony and angst as well, and he honestly couldn't blame them for being apprehensive or terrified of him after all the things his species had done to their kind or the lies and fabrications he had fooled them into believing. It was going to be a long road before everyone came to accept him as their equal, and even then he doubted that was possible, but it was a journey he was willing to make.

The brunette smiled and felt himself relax when Draculaura's delicate fingers intertwined with his own and gave his hand a firm squeeze as she leaned into his figure. The vampire gave a slow, stress-relieving sigh, more than happy that she no longer had to keep secrets from her friends anymore. "It's nice to finally be able to see your face again." she smiled, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck.

"Good to have it again." Ben joked lightly before something dawned on him. "Just out of curiosity, if Valentine isn't here . . . where is he?"

An awkward cough came from the crowd of monsters and Clawdeen and Clawd moved aside to look at Gigi, who waved shyly at them while trying to ignore Howleen's continuous attempts to try and convince Twyla to come back to Boo York with her, or at least establish some sort of shadow tunnel transportation system to make their time spent apart shorter. "Well . . . I called Whisp and it turns out, Valentine's taking care of her."

"Taking care of her?" Clawdeen raised an eyebrow.

Gigi nodded. "It seems Whisp came down with a case of Djinniphagia and Valentine is willingly taking care of her until she is better."

"What's Djinniphagia?" Clawd wondered.

"It's a disease that affects a genie's magic. It prevents them from having full control of their powers and often subconsciously warps their surroundings as a result . . . basically, imagine Valentine temporarily living in a slapstick cartoon where everything is against him and you'll have a pretty good image."

Ben cringed. "I feel sorry for the guy."

Draculaura smiled and pecked him on the cheek. "Think of it as Valentine finally making amends."

"I guess I have some amends to make, too."

"And I'll be there right beside you." the Daughter of Dracula promised. Ben smiled fondly and without hesitation, tenderly took her lips in his. The vampire shamelessly let out a soft moan when she felt Ben's tongue invade her oral cavity without pause, playfully prodding her fangs while he wrestled with her for control. She let out a muffled, startled when Ben unexpectedly and mischievously dipped her, his hand placed below her lower back and her fingers strongly interwoven with his own. She didn't care that they had an audience that made catcalls and wolf whistles at their performance or that her ghoul friends would never let her hear the end of this.

For once in a long time, Draculaura was truly happy and that was all she cared about.

* * *

 **I think I may have been channeling my inner Samurai Jack a little ways back there! On an related note, _finally!_**

 _ **'About time, too. When were you trying to release this piece of /censored/ anyway, Valentines Day? Hah! As if anyone'd actually read it on that lame holiday!**_

 **As I recall, that was the day your movie was released.**

 _ **'Touche. Got me again, Four-Eyes!'**_

 **Speaking of Valentines Day, where exactly were you? Not that me or Maddie particularly missed you, it's just that we didn't see you for three days . . .**

 _ **'That, my woefully undead compadre, is a tale of epic proportions, of a legendary hero going on an epic quest of an more epic proportions with nothing but his faithful katana blades, a bottle of booze, and a questionable amount of weaponry that far exceeds that which is able to fit upon one man's person! It is a tale of grueling trials and legendary battles, of-'**_

 **You just went over to Dionysus' and got drunk off your arse, didn't you?**

 _ **'How dare you accuse me, the great and almigty Deadpool, of such a scandalous act! I shall have you know I spent my Valentines day rescuing helpless babies from several burning buildings that I may or may not have set fire to or helped set fire to in the name of fun!'**_

 **Moments ago you just said you were on an epic quest of epic proportions.**

 _ **'And how is rescuing babies from questionably burning buildings any different?'**_

 **It's different in the fact that you're totally lying.**

 _ **'How dare you make such an accusation! Where are you getting this information from?'**_

 _ **Lady Death, silly! She carried you all the way back here after you were too drunk to walk straight! You looked so cute, all asleep and mumbling things in your sleep while she cradled you like a baby. You were even sucking your thumb, too! Awwww!**_

 _ **'How dare you take a stab at my manliness! Just where is your proof of this alleged drinking spree that may or may not have taken place over at the Wine Dude's place?**_

 _ **How about this? *pulls something out of her pocket***_

 _ ***jaw drops comically to the floor* 'I-Is . . . is that . . ?**_

 **Yep. Lady Death's bra. She sends her regards and wanted to thank you for the special night out. You were otherwise occupied at the time, so . . .**

 _ ***doesn't listen to a single word I say as usual and instead steals the bra from Maddie's clutches* YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-HOOOOOOOOOO! I am the luckiest /censored/ /censored/ /censored again/ /are you really surprised at this point?/ alive!'**_

 **That's one way of putting it. Now then, now that that's out of the way, you all know the drill! Vote for which ghoul you want to appear next and I will try to get it up as conveniently possible! That being said, Draculaura will be removed from the listing because in order for the third and final chapter to make any sense, her inevitable lemon chapter has to come out and since that's a ways off, well . . . so vote for someone else!**

 _ **That everything?**_

 **That just about covers it. As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below! With this out of the way, it's onto the long awaited and greatly anticipated next chapter of " _Once Upon a Tennyson!"_**

 _ **Hasta Luego!**_


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